Athletes’ quest for gold often
impeded by ethical question

Citius, Altius, Fortius — Faster,
Higher, Stronger.

The Olympic Motto

. BY NEVILLE JUDD

Contributing Writer

A poll conducted just prior to the
1984 Los Angeles Olympics
revealed that 55% of 198. ath-

letes questioned would take a.

drug that. would kill them five
years later if it would guarantee
them a coveted gold medal.

Athletes taking supplements for a.
competitive edge can be traced to the
Ancient Greeks, but it’s not some-
thing Pierre de Coubertin could have
imagined when: he introduced the
modem Olympics a century ago. ;
..’ In August, some participants at the
26th ‘Olympiad in Atlanta. will be
competing for much more than

‘medals. The commercial rewards

from . winning’ have never been
greater. The ‘pressure to succeed,
ver stronger. So is the urge to cheat.

nid just as that- urge: pervades so.
Tiany, sports today,.so does the race to”

“combat methods of cheating. Caught:
up’ in that race-will be athletes who,
unwittingly: or..naively trespass - the’

fine ‘line between. acceptable sports :

” » medicine and banned substances. .

It’s-an ironic:twist that a smiling

. “picture of ‘rower: Silken Laumann

-holding a medal, adorns one.of, the:
“pages: in. the Canadian - Centre’ for:
-», Drug-Free . Sport's: Spirit of Sport-
Guide. Less than’a year after the’

«booklet: was published, .at the ‘Pan-

- American” Games -in . Argentina,
“\Laumann ‘tested: positive: for. the:
"banned. substance ephedrine, ‘con-

' sumed. when: she was taking- the’.

»; decongestant Benadryl for a cold.

As the circumstances surrounding
-* Lavmann’s :.““one- mistake”
* wildly to Ben Johnson’s eight years of
steroid taking, so did their respective
aftermaths: Johnson's reputation was
- all but destroyed. Laumann’s rernains

: intact,

-.. Common to ‘both athletes
: though, i is that both were stripped
‘of their medals, That Johnson got |
“away with steroid taking for so
long is less shocking. now,
than how Laumann man-. °
aged to ingést-a banned
substance under ‘the guid-
ance of.a doctor, one of 20
medical staff that accompa-
nied the Canadian team to
_ Argentina.

If screwing up is that
simple, might it happen
_ again in Atlanta?

“IF you want to win...
then you must take anaboi-
. ic. steroids,” Charlie.
Francis, (coach .to
‘Ben Johnson) "told
the Dubin

Sees. = Commission.

~~

Dr. Doug
Clement has | one
word to sum up how
athletes — currently
‘keep apace of the
growing list’ of
banned substances.

“Chaos.: For the
innocent user, it is
absolute chaos,” says

_his

varied , °

extremely embarrassing for an athlete
to foul up. The Silken Laumann affair
was a foul up from day one and they
chose, to make an example of her."

Lynda Filsinger, executive director
of the Sports Medicine Council of
B.C..and a certified doping control
officer, believes Laumann had only
herself to blame for her predicament
at the Pan-Am Games last year.

“Silken Laumann was dumb,” seys
Filsinger “She blamed everyone else
but herself.” :

North Vancouver marathon runner
Bruce Deacon was the first British
Columbian to qualify for this sum-
mer's Olympics.

His idea of gaining a competitive
edge in the August heat of Atlanta is
to jog on the spoi in
a sauna, as part of
preparations.

Deacon is as serious
about keeping on top

of the banned list as

he is about his train-
ing. ;
“The onus is on

: you to do your home-

work. You cannot

“take it light:

hy,” :" says ~~

“Deacon..

throw away.

“all your .

“You. ‘can’t if
E

hard ~ work
because: of"

‘aly. cold.

medica-.

tion.”

Ce noe

Fast, ‘effective relief from: :

Competitive athletes are provided
with ammunition to stay clean: a Drug
Classification Handbook by the
CCDS (Canadian
Centre for Drug-Free
Sport) lists the hundreds
of banned substances
and explains why, for
instance, Robitussin is a
permitted medication
and why Robitussin PE
is not. (The latter con-
tains the banned sub-
stance ephedrine.)

For those still in
doubt, a 1-800 phone
line is available with
more information.

“J don’t go any-
where without that.
book.” says Charmaine
Crooks, Canada’s
fastest female 800-
Metre runner and currently preparing

for her fifth Olympic Games.
“I was tested three times in
one month, last year," says
the Nerth Vancouver
Olympian. “I don't have a
problem with it. I vent, my
frustration on those athletes
that do cheat by being

Sey —

Sanaa

SUBSTANCES found in over-
the-counter medication can
get athletes expelled from

Part three in a five-part
series on Sports Medicine. “I
Next week: Steroids.

system to clean up sport.”

“The Ben Johnson affair was cer-
tainly a wake up call,” says Clement.
“ft turned attention
away from competi-
tion testing to no-
notice testing.

Before, athletes could
alter their drug-use
pattern to avoid dis-
covery. There's still
inconsistencies and a
struggle between sup-
porters of a two-year
ban and a four-year
ban for positive test-
ing.

Deacon feels punish-
ment for positive. test-
ing should be harsher:
was tested in
December, downtown.
The amount of warn-
ing they gave me was far too long.
Thirty sia hours is a long time. They

should say, ‘we're coming to test you ..
in two hours.’ Sure, it’s ‘a great incon.
venience but if we are going to make...
a dent in this problem we have to be a”

lot stronger. I’ve heard of. athletes
being hospitalised after taking diuret-
ics to clean themselves out.”

The frustration felt by athletes who

know they are racing against competi-.
tors on drugs is by no means exclusive

to track und field. we

The recent staggering “overnight |
success of Chinese athletes — swim-
‘mers in -particular’— has ‘raised

doubts in many.

“I am’ very ‘suspicious of ‘the.

records: set. by the Chinese at. the
World Championships in Stuggart in

1993." said Jedrzejek. “All of the sud-': ”
_ den they come from nowhere and set ~

all these. new records and win 1,500,

. 3,000, 10,000. And the records stand.
tn China last: year,. our athlete: Lori
Durward ran and beat one of those’
“medalists. We now: know officially
that for “all: those years .in ‘East:

Germany and Russia, they: were

“cheating. It’s said those people who.”
helped. athletes cheat are in China’

now, but no one can prove that.”

- According to Clement, it'was
inevitable that some athletes in:
the West would buy into. the,

“everyone else. is doing it”
- mentality. °

tion remains.
“There are too many

holes in the.system..

li’s discouraging if
you are an. athlete

who has decided |

: that being” able «to
look at yourself in
the mirror at the end
of a competition is
more important than
the color of the
medal around your
neck,

“In ‘December, I

“ran against a Polish,,..

guy. He had already.
been banned twice
for drug use. First he
was nailed for
steroids, said his
dentist had given
him some: steroidal
cream. Next time it

was after he had.
some .

drunk
herbal tea. I'm
afraid | have very
little sympathy.
mean, come on,
once may be a

For Deacon, ‘the frustra-

regi atory

bodies, semi has-FINA SHS

control ‘officer.
2 “In: ‘Canada:

two | ‘years

in August 1995.

been vied.

Not kod ssingly i

China leading the protests. “3

i

positive for: aeroids’ at a'meet}]<

mistake, but twice

is forlife” >,

Neville Judd is a.
sports reporter

with (the Rich-

mientd News.

Clement, co-director
of the Allan
McGavin _ Sports
Medicine Centre at
UBC. “It can be
hazardous and

* sneezing @ runny or stuffy nose wat ty, ‘itchy eyes competition. Canadian rower
wigty ; var atler . , Silken Laumann tested posi-~
pacers : tive for the banned substance

eshedrine (in Benadry!) at the

Pavi-American Games in

Argentina. ,

Canadian - Centre. for.
Drug Free Sport: (ere
(813): 748-5755, OF.
672-7775 |