While I think most, if not all, of our recordbreakers are legit, I would not be surprised if a chunk of our swimmers were tested and found to have illegitimate substances in their bodies. Now, I am willing to bet that an overwhelming chunk of these cases would be for legit reason, OTC or prescription drug, lemon poppyseed muffin, etc. That being said, I would not put it past others in our ranks to be knowingly getting an illegitimate edge.
If there is doping in Masters Swimming, I doubt it would be just the "elite" or WR breakers who were culprits. I'm amazed at how serious ALL levels of master swimmers take themselves and their sport. If you just tested the Top 10 as AZ Tim suggested, I don't think it would be worth the time or money.
I bet the top 10 would be a good place to find someone. People have pointed out in this discussion, such as Mrs. Smith's statement here, that there are plenty of people do take masters swimming very seriously. There are people who are willing to "take it to the next level" at any cost, and they're not all recordbreakers... your run-of-the mill swimmers who want that Top 10 ranking, or National Champion patch, or whatever else is motivating them.
Some examples - you've been stuck at a time plateau for several years; finish 11th for the top 10 in your signature events for several years running; finish behind the same guy/gal too many times? Why not start ingesting some *junk* and seeing what happens?
In Masters, I would much prefer to allow anyone to swim. If they are on steroids and they beat me, good for them.
Yes, it is great to see so many people coming out to meets or just testing the waters. But when you care about your swims and get beaten by someone you know is cheating, no matter how cool you are normally, it always makes you feel like $h!+. I wonder if you'll be singing this same tune when you get bumped out of the top 10 by someone known to be juicing... Put yourself in Tara Kirk's shoes.
While I think most, if not all, of our recordbreakers are legit, I would not be surprised if a chunk of our swimmers were tested and found to have illegitimate substances in their bodies. Now, I am willing to bet that an overwhelming chunk of these cases would be for legit reason, OTC or prescription drug, lemon poppyseed muffin, etc. That being said, I would not put it past others in our ranks to be knowingly getting an illegitimate edge.
If there is doping in Masters Swimming, I doubt it would be just the "elite" or WR breakers who were culprits. I'm amazed at how serious ALL levels of master swimmers take themselves and their sport. If you just tested the Top 10 as AZ Tim suggested, I don't think it would be worth the time or money.
I bet the top 10 would be a good place to find someone. People have pointed out in this discussion, such as Mrs. Smith's statement here, that there are plenty of people do take masters swimming very seriously. There are people who are willing to "take it to the next level" at any cost, and they're not all recordbreakers... your run-of-the mill swimmers who want that Top 10 ranking, or National Champion patch, or whatever else is motivating them.
Some examples - you've been stuck at a time plateau for several years; finish 11th for the top 10 in your signature events for several years running; finish behind the same guy/gal too many times? Why not start ingesting some *junk* and seeing what happens?
In Masters, I would much prefer to allow anyone to swim. If they are on steroids and they beat me, good for them.
Yes, it is great to see so many people coming out to meets or just testing the waters. But when you care about your swims and get beaten by someone you know is cheating, no matter how cool you are normally, it always makes you feel like $h!+. I wonder if you'll be singing this same tune when you get bumped out of the top 10 by someone known to be juicing... Put yourself in Tara Kirk's shoes.
