Illegal drugs in masters meet - I'm heartbroken

The poll question, as posed, was do you think there are any masters swimmers taking illegal supplements. Although I think the number is very small it would be ignorant to think the number is zero. I've realized for a long time now that I'm never going to be the fastest swimmer out there. Swimming to me is all about meeting my personal goals and swimming faster than I did the previous season. I'm personally not that concerned about drug cheats. If they want to take those risks, it's their decision. edit: I wrote this before reading Bob's post and I completely agree with what he said.

My father once told me that there is also going to be a cheater. He wanted me to know that the sad thing is that sometimes they win. He also had a great saying, "Perfection seldom achieved, often ignored."

I've always thought that there are Masters swimmers who "cheat". I don't know why, but I never cared. There is always someone who will do ANYTHING to be successful (whatever their definition of success might be). I just always wondered what someone would REALLY get by using illegal drugs (as stated by FINA)? Are the long term effects really worth it? And are the people that are taking these drugs so insecure with their own "natural" successes? Or...? Lots of questions that could be thrown into the mix. I, for one, am in trouble if we're ever tested and Advil is banned! I think I'm becoming a junkie! (But it makes my owies feel better!)

Originally posted by penguin4501 if people are cheating in masters meet, then I start to wonder what's the point of working so hard on improving my stroke and time. Swimming is not my career, I love doing it and it's a healthy hobby for me. What's the point of entering a master's swim meet? Isn't it stupid to be so hard headed? Maybe you guys can give me some reasons why I should continue to work hard and having "winning a masters swim meet" as a goal. If you make it to the Olympics or to the FINA world championships, your fellow swimmers will be carefully scrutinized to insure that they are not cheating. But if you don't make it that far, your wins have no real significance beyond your own personal satisfaction. Keep in mind that the swimmers you will be competing against in masters meets differ widely in how old they were when they began competing, how many years they have been competing, how many meets they have been in, how good their coaching has been, how many hours per week they can spend in the pool, etc., so there is nothing approaching an even playing field. Because of this, the swimmer you should really be competing against is yourself. If you set a new personal best time or do a new event that you've never done before in competition, you've won, regardless of what your placing was. And if you succeed in improving your health and longevity by swimming regularly, that's the most important victory of all! Bob

Oh my gosh don't be heart broken! Please understand that being a newbie you may not have learned that "TheGoodSmith" (and a few others...) is known in these forums for taking a cattle prod to anyone who dares to open a thread or read a replay from him. He is baiting anyone --he admits to this in some threads. Take what you read with a grain of salt --or sugar, depending on what is needed. It's actually fun to see some of us go off the deep end with our posts. I tend to appreciate "TheGoodSmith" and he gets us thinking... Will I get banned for two weeks for the cattle prod comment? Alicat

Originally posted by Alicat Will I get banned for two weeks for the cattle prod comment? As long as you don't say he's a Democrat you are ok...

Karen, Drop your dependance on Advil, when you are really a Masters you move up to Naproxen Sodium, AKA Naprosin, AKA "All Day Relief" for swimmers shoulders and swimmers knees.:D :D When you see a male masters with huge muscles, and pimples all over, swimming really fast, you think steroids.

Penguin- at the risk of sounding like Yoda- the true answer in your heart is.

Wayne- I agree with your description of tell-tales & add: a certain fullness under the jawline, hard to describe, but distinctive & as well, behavioral signs- arrogance, intolerance, regarding others as 'lesser beings'. Yes, I know, the latter can just come naturally to some, but these are observed by me over 33 years of fairly regular weight training & observing some pretty overt steroid abuse. What concerns me about this discussion is that while I don't doubt that there is some drug 'cheating' in Masters, I feel that it is a small minority who will reap their own rewards in possible side effects in later years; the rest of us are far too straight & respectful of our bodies to partake of such experimentation. I do think any potential major sponsor of US Masters Swimming might well misinterpret the results of GoodSmiths's poll & not wish to be associated with such behavior.

The discussion about "cheating" in the other thread may be interesting, but it is basically pointless. First, let's define cheating. It is breaking the rules. If a swimmer breaks the rules in terms of technique or execution and is caught by the ref, s/he is disqualified. As for performance enhancing substances. Well, if someone is taking EPO or steroids prescribed by a physician to address a medical necessity, then so be it. Those instances are, I'm guessing, few and far between and nothing worth worrying about. As to those souls who may ingest illegal or legal substances in order to swim fast at a masters meet, then just feel sorry for them. How pathetic must one's life be that s/he is so driven to win a masters event that they would put something in their body that could hurt them just to get an advantage over their competitors. Pity those sad, pathetic losers and go about your own business as if they don't exist . . . because (a) they probably don't and (b) if they do what do you really care and why would you waste time worrying about them?