What do you think about Lance Armstrong (sorry I KNOW he's not a swimmer) being sponsored by Bristol Meyers. I am sure that's a great sponsor to land as they can provide (and do) Lance or whatever athlete with all sorts of undectable drugs. Drug A gets more oxygen into your system. Drug B increases your red blood cell count. And so on. At what point is the line crossed? Steroids aren't going to help distance swimmer. As I understand it Steroids are more for power and short bursts of energy as opposed to endurance.
Disclaimer: Lance Armstrong is a phenomenal athlete known for his hard work and for being "clean". Though there are many reports that contradict that. I admire and respect this athlete and in NO WAY at all am I accusing him of anything but just using him as an example.
Anyway ... is this just best left up to the anti-doping committees and those that select the banned substances. I think that there will always be those "lucky" athletes that are given "miracle" pills that help them to recover, get stronger, etc. that cannot be detected there are always ways around the system. But what I am getting at is, is this a problem or is it on the OK side? Is it really fair? Does it really allow for a "level" playing field?
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He most definitely IS the most tested athlete. He has to always let them know where he will be each day so that they can test him wherever/whenever they want.
Doping is NOT ok, it ruins the spirit of sports because it is less abut the athlete and more about the drugs. Yes, the problem is that if one contender is doping, they all have to in order to compete. It isn't easy doing a 3 week stage race, recovery is incredibly hard. If your opponent is taking drugs to aid his/her recovery than that gives your opponent the upper hand...so you might as well dope too!
More intersting yet is the use of altitude tents to raise your hemocrat level. It's basically the legal way of taking EPO. It is a widely accepted drug free practice.
I pray to god Lance never has a positive test...guess he only has a few more chances at getting caught if he is taking something.
He most definitely IS the most tested athlete. He has to always let them know where he will be each day so that they can test him wherever/whenever they want.
Doping is NOT ok, it ruins the spirit of sports because it is less abut the athlete and more about the drugs. Yes, the problem is that if one contender is doping, they all have to in order to compete. It isn't easy doing a 3 week stage race, recovery is incredibly hard. If your opponent is taking drugs to aid his/her recovery than that gives your opponent the upper hand...so you might as well dope too!
More intersting yet is the use of altitude tents to raise your hemocrat level. It's basically the legal way of taking EPO. It is a widely accepted drug free practice.
I pray to god Lance never has a positive test...guess he only has a few more chances at getting caught if he is taking something.
