Drug Testing in Masters Swimming

I don't think I would be surprised to find some Masters "cheating". And it may very well be the ones profiting from their swimming success... However, I know that most of the people ranking Top 10 World Times, World Records, etc. have an impressive swimming history. Many swam in USS Nationals as kids, made their Olympic Trials cuts, were American Record holders, won NCAA's, etc. I think many of these people would voluntarily test if they were asked, as long as they didn't have to pay for it! An amazing example of speed that I can think of is Clay Britt. There are many expletives I can think of to describe his swimming! Many Masters may not know he won 3 NCAA's in a row, until his senior year, when some upstart named Rick Carey came along! Clay is just a powerful, strong sprinter. He has immense talent. I believe he had at least one American Record- I'll check with my hubby on that one. For someone to imply that someone like Clay was cheating, would show their lack of knowledge of history. How many other Master's swimmers do you know with similar backgrounds to Clay's? Probably more than you think. I can think of at least 10 off the top of my head. Let's not confuse cheating with talent and hard work. Clay was on the 1980 Olympic team too. But he's been a real slacker lately. No meets since his WR spree in Dec. at U Md. I barely have time to get to practice, much less cheat. I'm just trying not to die of allergies and kid germs and sleep deprivation. But, Kirk, would you really cheat? I mean, you're pretty darn fast already. And is cheating only prevelant among national or world record holders? Or also among those aspiring to be such? I'm sure there are cheaters. I know 12 years olds taking HGH. They can all get on with their own bad selves. I'll continue to worry about getting through traffic to get to the pool or to the weight room so I don't have to run all the time. If they want to drug test me, they can show up at my house or get me at a meet. I don't feel like footing the bill or adding an extra errand to my day to show up to be drug tested. I'm not a cockroach either, but there are other things in my life besides swimming.

I don't think I would be surprised to find some Masters "cheating". And it may very well be the ones profiting from their swimming success... However, I know that most of the people ranking Top 10 World Times, World Records, etc. have an impressive swimming history. Many swam in USS Nationals as kids, made their Olympic Trials cuts, were American Record holders, won NCAA's, etc. I think many of these people would voluntarily test if they were asked, as long as they didn't have to pay for it! An amazing example of speed that I can think of is Clay Britt. There are many expletives I can think of to describe his swimming! Many Masters may not know he won 3 NCAA's in a row, until his senior year, when some upstart named Rick Carey came along! Clay is just a powerful, strong sprinter. He has immense talent. I believe he had at least one American Record- I'll check with my hubby on that one. For someone to imply that someone like Clay was cheating, would show their lack of knowledge of history. How many other Master's swimmers do you know with similar backgrounds to Clay's? Probably more than you think. I can think of at least 10 off the top of my head. Let's not confuse cheating with talent and hard work. Clay was on the 1980 Olympic team too. But he's been a real slacker lately. No meets since his WR spree in Dec. at U Md. I barely have time to get to practice, much less cheat. I'm just trying not to die of allergies and kid germs and sleep deprivation. But, Kirk, would you really cheat? I mean, you're pretty darn fast already. And is cheating only prevelant among national or world record holders? Or also among those aspiring to be such? I'm sure there are cheaters. I know 12 years olds taking HGH. They can all get on with their own bad selves. I'll continue to worry about getting through traffic to get to the pool or to the weight room so I don't have to run all the time. If they want to drug test me, they can show up at my house or get me at a meet. I don't feel like footing the bill or adding an extra errand to my day to show up to be drug tested. I'm not a cockroach either, but there are other things in my life besides swimming.