Steroid Nation

New Jamaican track doping case: Stimulant detected before World Championships

More Jamaican controversy.  Apparently Jamaican track athletes tested positive for a stimulant, however information is murky.  (AP)  This is the problem with athletes from the Island: murky procedures that keep the world doubting the athletes.

The world athletics federation is still awaiting information on a ruling that cleared five Jamaican athletes of doping and a decision on their participation in the world championships is likely to come close to Saturday's opening.

"We are following the matter. We are not saying anything today," IAAF secretary general Pierre Weiss said at the federation's congress on Wednesday.

The IAAF would have liked to have dealt with the issue well ahead of their biennial championships and has been sharply critical of the way the Jamaicans have addressed the situation and the lack of urgency with which it has been transmitting information.

"It is an amazing situation we are facing," said IAAF council member Helmut Digel.

Jamaica's Anti-Doping Commission said Monday it will appeal a ruling that had cleared five Jamaicans after a disciplinary panel appointed by the island's sports minister found there wasn't enough evidence to prove substance abuse.

The runners had previously been identified as Yohan Blake, Sheri-Ann Brooks, Allodin Fothergill, Lansford Spence and Marvin Anderson.

They reportedly tested positive for the stimulant methylhexanamine. The disciplinary panel cleared Brooks last week and she is on the provisional list to compete in the 100 meters on Sunday.

The IAAF had hoped to receive information from the Jamaican federation right after Monday's ruling, and has a review panel ready to assess the case on short notice. As long as no information is forthcoming, it cannot tackle the issue.

Intrigue revolves around almost-Olympic swimmer Jessica Hardy, AdvoCare, and clenbuterol contamination

Remember USA swimmer Jessica Hardy?  She was set to participate in the 2008 Beijing Olympics when almost on the plane to China when she was 'sabotaged' by a positive urine test for clenbuterol, which of course is banned.

This led to much consternation for #3 swimmer Tara Kirk, who finished 3rd to Harding by a fingernail, however could not be included in the USA swim teams entourage as the doping results came to late to alter the roster.

The situation became even more entangled.  Hardy claimed the clen came from a supplement of the company AdvoCare, and two of the companies products:  Arginine Extreme and  Nighttime Recovery.  Now the plot thickens:

1. Hardy sued AdvoCare, a company she was retained as an athlete spokesperson.  Hardy claims Con Catlin's UCLA lab showed clenbuterol in testing supplement she took. (more here)

2.  AdvoCare sued Hardy for defamation.  Advocare says their product was tested at a Michigan firm, which showed it was clean. (from Swimming World)

The company's case says it "specifically tested the lots of AdvoCare products provided to Hardy," the tests performed by NSF International, a non-profit organization based in Ann Arbor, Mich., that certifies supplements as free from taint for the NFL, among others. Those tests "confirm that no clenbuterol is present in the AdvoCare products," the lawsuit says.

Hardy's lawsuit says she retained Anti-Doping Research in Los Angeles, the lab founded by Don Catlin, the former director of the World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited lab at UCLA.

ADR "tested all of the AdvoCare products used by Ms. Hardy during and immediately prior to the Olympic Trials, using remaining samples from those she had with her at the U.S. Olympic Trials in July 2008, or samples from the same product lot or lots as those she used at the U.S. Olympic Trials in July 2008.

"After extensive testing, ADR detected the presence of clenbuterol in samples of Arginine Extreme and Nighttime Recovery."

So — one lawsuit says the tests didn't find anything, the other says the tests assuredly did.

Now, Olympic insider Ron Judd (at the Seattle Times) put together a column that says:

• An arbitration ruling from (?) the USADA reduced Hardy's mandatory 2 year suspension to 1 year.  The suspensions (counting back time) will end in July 2009, which makes her eligible for the 2012 London Olympics....except...
• There is mandatory exclusion of the subsequent Olympics game for any athlete suspended for doping for over 6 months.

Didn't Hardy serve a suspensions for 2008?  And wasn't her sentence reduced because she claims contamination (which was never proved?).  It wasn't reduced below 1 year, which would continue to support her 2012 Olympics suspension.

Furthermore Hardy claims this was a last minute contamination, however data indicates she actually dropped 3 dirty urines even prior to the US Olympic swimming trial:

But new evidence presented in the arbitration ruling sheds some new light. It discloses, for the first time publicly, that the same UCLA lab that tested Hardy's other samples informed USADA on July 23, two days after reporting the initial positive result, that two Hardy samples from July 1 (when she won the 100 breast) and July 6 (when she finished second in the 50 freestyle), initially reported as negative, "actually revealed the presence of 'suspect clenbuterol transitions.

This chain of events disturbs common sensibility on many levels.

1.  What about 'strict liability' for the athlete who is responsible for what goes into their Olympic body?  Athletes are frequently warned about supplements and other crap.  Judd comments:

The term means what it says: Athletes are responsible for what they put in their bodies. Intent doesn't matter. You can test positive by accident and still see your career -- and your Olympic dream -- go up in flames. It's happened already to other athletes. But the American Arbitration Association seems ready to literally take on the world to prevent it from happening to hapless victim Jessica Hardy. And USADA, which was party to this exercise in jurisdictional aggrandizement, apparently is right there with them.

2.  What about the conflicting claims of supplement contamination?  Hardy claims her lab tested the supplements, however there was no strict 'chain of custody' (obviously Hardy could have contaminated the supplement herself looking for an excuse).  Advocare says their product was clean.

3.  And how about the arbitration committee thumbing it's nose at the IOC and at WADA who maintains strict liability policies.

4.  Dana Kirk filed a negligence suit in the case too:

Nobody has bent over backwards to do anything for the now-retired Kirk, beyond urging her to go away. Her legal motion to be added to the squad was denied before the Beijing Games, but her claim that she was damaged by USA Swimming's negligence in the case remains alive, and will get its own arbitration hearing later this month.

This is a mess.  To conclude:

But what kind of thermonuclear mixed message does all this send to the nation's impressionable young athletes? Don't use supplements, wink, wink. But if you do (and to be multiple-medal material, you pretty much have to) just make sure you can afford a good attorney, and we'll be behind you 100 percent?

Brazilian swimmer Rebeca Gusmao -- alleged steroid user -- to be two sport athlete

Brazilian swimmer Rebeca Gusmao, who hulks over her swimming competition, has decided to play soccer while her appeals on positive steroid test in swimming are adjudicated.

Gusmao (left and below left before bulking up), who bulked up beyond belief, made the news several times the past year when her bulk, her chutzpah, and her biceps impressed swimming fans and anti-doping authorities.  Now she wants to use that bulk to kick some but ton the soccer field.

Brazilian swimmer Rebeca Gusmao insisted on Monday that she would be cleared of doping accusations.

Once she is cleared from her current ban, she will be a two-sport athlete.

While serving her ban, she played soccer for her university team and was discovered by the soccer club of Ascoop. Monday was her first practice together with the team. She will help the team in this year's women's National League in the capital city of Brasilia. The tournament will be held in the middle of December.

With a little more than one month to go before the swimmer hears whether or not her case will be upheld or if she will be absolved, Gusmao decided to remain active. Soccer was her outlet. However, she remains optimistic about her return to her favorite sport, swimming.

The Court for Arbitration of Sports (CAS) has yet to make a ruling on the swimmer's appeal for charges of doping.

"My expectations are high. I have the best lawyers in Brazil helping me on this case. We are all very confident. The truth always prevails. I have no doubt that God will help to prove my innocence," said Gusmao.

"I learned to live day by day. Until I receive a final judgment, I will continue to play soccer. However, I may be absolved and would return to swimming immediately. There are many options. The only thing I can do is wait."

Not enough water in the pool to handle that bulk...look at Gusmao closely, she claims polycystic ovary disease jacked her up.

Infamous Brazilian swimmer Rebeca Gusmao suspended for life for steroid use

Brazilian swimmer Rebeca Gusmao, winner of several races of note, will now be retiring to civilian life after a life suspension from swimming for chronic anabolic steroid cheating.  Perhaps her skin will clear up now.

The International Swimming Federation belatedly nailed Gusmao, who displayed vividly the acne side effects of 'roids, for testosterone abuse. To the IHT:

The International Swimming Federation on Friday banned Brazilian star Rebeca Gusmao for life for failing two drug tests.

Lawyers for Gusmao say she'll appeal the decision.

In July, Gusmao received a second two-year doping suspension after a positive test for testosterone at a 2006 competition — a decision delayed by problems with the tests.

Gusmao also tested positive for the substance before the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. She won two gold medals at the Pan American Games and was later stripped of the medals.

The photo at the right show Gusmoa before her steroid madness.  She gave the following quote:

“I did not have boyfriends, I was not the parties and nor I cultivated friendships are of the swimming pools. But I am certain of that I was born to be an athlete”, says Rebeca.

Gusmao collected quite a collection of medals on her way to a steroid lifetime ban.  Here is a list of some of the tainted medal acquired before 2004 (note the 'bigger every day quote":

...Rebeca she received gold medals in the 50 and 100 meters free in the Júniores Games from the South Africa. After that, she participated of the Pan de Winnipeg, in Canada. Since then, they had been 91 gold medals, 52 of silver and 33 of bronze in 63 national and international championships. To the 19 years, she is recordista South American Brazilian and of 100 free meters and one of the hopes of medal in Atenas. “I am close to the accomplishment of my bigger dream, but I confess that the fear is each bigger day.”

Gusmao became something of a celebrity in Brazil for the incredible transformation from female athlete to the Incredible Hulk.  You wonder if she added other drugs besides testosterone to her training regimen.  Look at the lower jaw.  Incredible indeed.

 

Oussama Mellouli owes gold medal to FINA for keeping Adderall suspension to 18 months

Oussama Mellouli the Tunisian swimmer, who swam at the University of Southern California, should send flowers to FINA, the governing agency of swimming.  FINA meted out an 18 month doping suspension, rather than the standard 24 month ban.  Mellouli used Adderall to study (which itself is academic abuse) before a huge world meet.  He tested positive for amphetamine, which wiped out a world championship and wiped out  his career up to that point.  However, the 18 month suspension did allow the Tunisian swimmer to compete and win in the 1500 freestyle, at Beijing.

Swimming World said this at the time of the 18 month suspension:

Today, Ous Mellouli is both a fortunate and unfortunate athlete. But, weighing the possibilities that could have emerged, he is more lucky than not. Next year, he'll have the chance to compete at the Olympic Games and once again prove his worth on a major stage. Considering how close he was to not having that chance, he can count his blessings.

So Mellouli passed his exam and swam for an 'A' in the Cube in Beijing.  Pay attention to the Adderall from now on.

Oh yeah this headline over at Let's Run:  Enjoy the Olympics as the World May Be Ending Soon

Silver medal for Torres as the San Diego Union-Tribune reveals more

Mark Zeigler at the San Diego Tribune reveals more about 41 year-old Dara Torres who finished 2nd in the 50 freestyle today.  A few days ago we emailed each other about Mark Spitz' attempt to return to glory at age 39 to 41.  Spitz practiced intensely with the UCLA swim team, however could not qualify for the US team at age 41, swimming significantly slower than age 20.  Torres, however simws faster at 41 than she did at 21. (graphics from the New York Times)

A few years ago, a prominent U.S. swimmer ended a lengthy retirement and returned to the pool with the goal of qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials. It didn't go well. The swimmer got dusted in a made-for-TV dual race, swimming more than a second slower than before over a mere 50 meters, and the comeback quickly descended into a watery grave, yet another grudging concession to Father Time.

  A fellow by the name of Mark Spitz.  He was 41.  “I couldn't believe I swam that slow,” Spitz said in 1991. “It didn't feel slow.”

Now the opposite is true. Dara Torres made a comeback at age 41 after a lengthy retirement, and people can't believe she is swimming this fast.

The issue with Torres lies with her physique....it looks incredibly virginal for a 41 year-old.  And depsite what the media would love to say about demolishing the limitations of age, those limitations exist in the DNA.

Either she is a freak of nature who should be celebrated for her athletic accomplishments at such a relatively advanced age and revered by 40-something mothers everywhere; who can retire for six years and swim faster at 41 than at 21; who can recover from shoulder surgery in November and knee surgery in January; who can look as if her head were photo-shopped on the taut body of an 18-year-old; and who can do it all with protein shakes and amino acids and anything else within the boundaries of anti-doping regulations.

Yes, overall humans look younger than they did 100 years ago.  Antibiotics, and sewers, and aspirin, and CAT Scans produce longevity.  But the fast twitch muscles decline with age.  DNA has not changed: we continue to be born with 46 chromosomes.

Zeigler lists some reasons that Torres's feat is incredible:

• (Torres volunteered for extensive dope testing which is)...an admirable gesture, no doubt. But there's also this number: 160. That's how many drug tests, give or take, (Marion) Jones passed in her career.
• Here are some more: 20, 23, 19, 25, 22, 20, 19, 21, 24 and 24.  Those are the ages of the swimming gold medalists in individual women's events in Beijing.
• ... the body's production of human growth hormone decreases an estimated 10 percent to 15 percent when you hit your 30s. It dips another 10 percent in your 40s.

Torres employs an army of coaches massage therapists, shoe shine boys etc.  But these conncections are suspect:

Torres spends, by her estimate, about $100,000 annually on a team of coaches, chiropractors, masseuses, personal trainers and physical therapists.

 

Yahoo Sports recently reported that in 2003 her current coach, Michael Lohberg, sent swimmers to a Florida nutritionist accused of providing athletes – quarterback Tim Couch among them – with banned human growth hormone. Torres didn't begin working with Lohberg until 2006, and Lohberg insisted his swimmers never got growth hormone from the nutritionist, only protein shakes and amino acids.

Before the 2000 Olympics, Torres and a few other swimmers worked with Glen Luepnitz, a Texas nutritionist who was quoted in an Australian newspaper saying he gave athletes the banned substance MediTropin. Luepnitz said he was misquoted, but the IOC launched an investigation nonetheless.

Medtropin is a mixture of amino acids, which is no big deal.  Protein shakes are likewise no big deal, and no reason to pay bucks to a protein shake coach.  (protein shakes and amino acids, impressive! ha!)   HGH, however, is a different story.

Compare the 5-1 1or 6-0/145 Torres with the 6'4" / 195 lbs Phelps.  Who has the androgens here?

We will add some stats to indicate Torres is defying gravity, in a minute for part 2.

 

So Michael Phelps is doping...with Good Vibrations?

The Baltimore Sun runs a piece (unedited) commenting on Michael Phelps's unfair advantage before races: he rocks out (or raps out).  The thesis is that music enhances performance physiologically.  This is taking things a little too far.  Doesn't training increase oxygen utilization?  Should athletic training be banned as doping?  Here is the prelude:

I’m going to present our guest post today without comment, and Kevin, if you feel like opining, feel free.

Dr. Alexei Koudinov is the editor of the Israel-based Doping Journal Web site. When he sees Michael Phelps race, he sees a cheater. I asked him to explain why and he shared the essay you'll find below. He titled it, "Doping by the pool invalidates Phelps Beijing 2008 Olympic swimming gold, world records."

And here we go to the guest post:

Did you notice that Michael Phelps wears earphones and is listening music just before his every Olympic start, at Beijing’s Olympiad Water Cube pool deck...he was the only swimmer who worn earphones at the pool deck. Intriguing scientific evidence testifies: Listening to music improves blood oxygen capacity and is a performance enhancement.

There could be several mechanisms, says Stefan Koelsch of Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, in Leipzig, Germany, who has published 40 articles on the subject of how the body reacts to music. Dr. Koelsch says that "music can have influences on the breathing rate (e.g. via emotional effects such an increased arousal) which will alter oxygen levels in the blood, or relaxing effects (so that fewer muscles consume oxygen, which also increases oxygen levels)." He says that his group "has reported clear changes in breathing rate on a conference last year, with breathing rate being higher during pleasant music." In line with Koelsch conclusion are the data of the research article by Luciano Bernardi group of the University of Pavia, Italy, implying that the withdrawal of music shortly before the swim race induces relaxing effects noted by Koelsch.

If I were a swimmer I would mimic anything Michael Phelps did including sticking my finger up my nose...

Evidence comes from the research done with human infants. It showed that music causes better saturation of hemoglobin with oxygen (a so-called SPO(2) parameter, compared with control subjects receiving no music, indicating an "enhancement of oxygen transfer") and that increased by music, oxygen saturation returns to the baseline faster compared with control, making it hard to detect the transient oxygen saturation shortly thereafter. While Koelsch preferred his own explanation on how music can improve body oxygen capacity, Dr. Alexander Cherniak, a researcher at the Chuchalin Pulmonology Institute of Moscow, Russia agrees that medical experimentation with infants allows good standardization of the research protocol, appropriate statistics and could be projected onto the adults.

Actually one cannot project infant research onto adults.  Different population, dudes.

So what? Can one call listening to music shortly before entering the swimming pool for competition a performance enhancement? Yes, say both Koelsch and Cherniak. If so, how long could this enhancement last? "Duration [of the effect is] not certain, from seconds to minutes," adds Koelsch. Beijing Olympic and world records by Phelps fall into the expert’s projected time frame. Yes, testifies Dr. Vance Bergeron, of Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, Laboratoire de Physique in Lyon, France: "[M]usic next to the swimming pool, less than 2 minutes before the start could indicate performance enhancement because of transient increase of blood oxygen capacity."

Bergeron adds that such a performance enhancement is "a bio-chemical feedback mechanism from an external source. The external source in the present case, music, is available to everyone, not harmful to the athlete or his peers, and carried out under full disclosure, hence I do not see how this conflicts with fair play and honesty," but says that "I am not an expert on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)."

If the other athletes are allowed ear buds, then they should utilize the tunes too.  Tunes for the good vibrations...

Remarkable time by China's Liu Zige: Shaves over 5 seconds in one year from 200M Butterfly to win gold medal and demolish world record

Swimming a 2:09.45 less than a year ago did not hold back teenage Chinese 200m butterfly gold medalist Liu Zige.  The swimmer recorded a remarkable 2:04.19 in winning the gold last night in Beijing.  Zige demolished the world record held by Jessicah Schipper. (AFP) (Swim News link)  (she also swam a 2:09 this spring)

It was a remarkable achievement in the pool by two women who have done little before, with Liu clocking two minutes 04.18 seconds to shave over a second off the previous world record held by Australian Jessicah Schipper.

Jiao's time was also under the old world mark, leaving Schipper to trail home in third place.

"I didn't feel pressure before the competition, I tried to relax," said Liu.

"And in the race I just swam at my own pace, not caring about others. My coach said to me that we will have two Chinese swimmers in the final, so you don't need to force yourself to win gold, you just need to try your best."

It was China's first swimming gold of the Games and only its third since its prime at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, when it won four.

Since then the squad has had to fight the stigma of doping scandals and managed just two titles in the following three Games -- one in 1996 and one in 2004.

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Liu won the event in a staggering 2min.04.16s, an amazing 1.22s inside the mark Schipper has set back in 2006 at the Pan Pacific Championships in Canada, to claim China's first gold medal in the pool at these Games.

Schipper swam a 2:06.26.  So in 2 years she swam 0.86 slower from her old record of 2:05.40, while Liu improved by 5.29 seconds in less than a year.

Interesting.  Here are the best 200M fly times in 2008.  Where were the Chinese before this?

Athletes to watch:
Jessicah Schipper (World record-holder)
Yuko Nakanishi (Fastest in 2008)
Aurore Mongel (Second-fastest in 2008)

Australian competitors:
Jessicah Schipper
Samantha Hamill

Current Olympic champion:
Otylia Jedrzejczak (Poland) 2:06.05

World record:
Jessicah Schipper (Australia) 2:05.40 August 17, 2006

Top-ranked performers:

1. Yuko Nakanishi (Japan) 2:06.38 April 15, 2008
2. Aurore Mongel (France) 2:06.59 March 23, 2008
3. Jemma Lowe (UK) 2:06.64 March 31, 2008
4. Emese Kovacs (Hungary) 2:06.71 March 23, 2008
6. Jessicah Schipper (Australia) 2:06.82 March 22, 2008

Irish swimmer fails doping test, but swims in Olympics anyway

Are some of the banned drugs a bit trivial?  This Irish swimmer tested positive for an unnamed OTC drug, however received just a reprimand rather than a suspension.  (Independent ie)

AFTER narrowly failing to make Irish swimming history by just .19 of a second, Down breaststroker Andrew Bree revealed yesterday that he never believed his failed drugs test would stop him from realising his Olympic dream.

"I knew at the end of the day I wouldn't get in trouble for a Vicks inhaler the size of my small finger, there's a lot worse cases of drugs than that," said the 27-year-old from Helen's Bay, Co Down who broke his Irish 200m breaststroke record for the second day in-a-row yesterday, but still couldn't become Ireland's first male swimmer to make an Olympic final.

Bree was dragged through the anti-doping disciplinary process earlier this year when he failed a drugs test for a substance taken in an over-the-counter medicine.

Fortunately, he escaped with just a warning and somehow held his form through all the drama, lowering his Irish record for the second consecutive day to a new mark of 2:10.16.

But, fifth in his semi-final, Bree's time still wasn't good enough to make the top-eight final in Beijing's blisteringly fast 'Water Cube',  leaving him just 11th best in the red-hot field.

The story doesn't reveal for which drug Bree tested positive; it was likely an over-the-counter cold medicine.  Is the testing getting obsessive about some of these drugs?

Working list of doping-banned athletes Pre-Olympics 2008

Steroid Nation presents the unofficial working list of elite athletes banned from the 2008 Olympics due to doping. We compiled the list from a number of sources which we will credit soon (such as the IAAF site for track and field).

Such a list is imperfect because some athletes are presumptive -- banned before tryouts.  Previous media reports put the number of banned athletes at 'over 40' and now 'over 50'.  We count 78 athletes here.

This is a first pass.  We will try to clean up the fonts and the spacing however this is a monumental task to investigate all the athletes around the world.  Media: if you use this data, please credit the site.

The list-- found after the jump -- is ordered to nation, sport, gender.

Addendum:

Jaqson Kojoroski, M, Brazil, Handball

Ioannis Drymonako, Greece, Swimming

How did the Chinese 4x100 swim relay team improve so much?

The Cleveland Leader asks how did the Chinese 4x100m relay team make up so much ground so quickly.

Michael Phelps wasn't the only one making waves in the pool today. The Chinese women's relay team was the top qualifier in the 4x100m freestyle competition. While that in itself may not be enough to arose suspicion, chew on this: coming into the heats, the team ranked an average of #39 in the world. Coming out of the heats, they became the top-seed and the team to beat in the relay. As the Chinese celebrated, alarm bells went off in just about everyone else.

The Leader says the Chinese were not so good just a few months ago.  They must be very dedicated.

The Chinese have not fared well in swimming any time recently. At 2007's World Championships, the Chinese won two medals, a silver and a bronze. Compare that to the United States, which won 20 golds, 13 silvers and 3 bronzes. How can the sudden, drastic improvement be explained?

The highest-ranked Chinese swimmer in the 100-freestyle was Pang Jiaying at #11. She anchored the relay in 52.83. The foursome's time of 3 minutes 36.78 seconds set a new Asian record and was just three seconds shy of the world record, which was set earlier this year by the Dutch. Germany finished in second at 3:37.52, and the United States pulled in third at 3.37.53.

Pang's portion of the relay was by far her best time this year by an astounding 1.34 seconds, and the fastest split by any swimmer in the event by over one second. Again, this left many wondering what could account for that much of a time drop.

Not that there is any reason for suspicions here the Chinese have always been clean (not)

If the Chinese team were found to be cheating, it wouldn't be the first time. During the 1990's, 30 Chinese swimmers failed drug tests in international competition, and in recent years they've been relative non-factors on the competitive swimming circuit. This year the Chinese had the same number of swimmers failing drug tests as the Americans.

In the months leading up to the Games, the big rumor in the international swimming world was that China had a shadow team that it was keeping largely sequestered, making it easier to escape the radar of drug testers. That notion was dismissed by Mark Shubert, the US national team director, and Eddie Reese again on Saturday.

Did the Chinese team work really work that hard to improve? Do they have some kind of home field advantage? Or, have they perhaps been artificially aided through steroids or even genetic enhancements? If they continue to uncharacteristically smash the competition in swimming, the allegations of cheating will only get stronger.

Sunday Steroid Injection: Olympics dope

1.  US fencer Sada Jacobson felt rushed about peeing for doping control because Ex-President Bush was waiting to meet her.  (Edmonton Sun)

"I was in doping control and they said: 'Hurry up because President Bush is waiting for you'," she said. "That kind of surreal experience can only happen to you at the Olympics."     Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush stopped by the fencing arena to congratulate the American women for sweeping the medals in sabre yesterday.

2.  The #39 Chinese swim team entered the finals with the best (?doped) time.  Suspicious.  (Cleveland Leader)

3.  Malaysian 56Kg lifter Amirul Hamizan Ibrahim hopes for a medal, after sitting out doping suspension.  (The Star)

4. The Contender's star Joey Gilbert defines 'polypharmacy'.  (RGJ.com)

5. Interview with ex-GDR Olympic athlete Ines Geipel about doping.  (Duetche Welle)

6.  Steroids can contribute to the wear and tear on those young pitching arms  (Newsday)

7. Louisiana considers steroids in schools.  (The Advertiser)

8.  Just in: the Nigerians won the 2000 mens 4x400 relay gold.  (Afrika)

Lab delay accounts for slow processing of USA swimmer Jessica Hardy's doping Olympic disqualification

A delayed delivery of the bad news containing Jessica Hardy's positive doping test prevented any insertion of a substitute in the US lineup for the Beijing Olympics, the LA Times says today.  (first in the Seattle Post).

The positive drug test of U.S. swimmer Jessica Hardy was delayed, officials said Friday, a miscue that probably deprived the team of a replacement.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency clarified why authorities, despite an expedited request, didn't notify Hardy of a July 4 positive test at UCLA for clenbuterol until July 21, the deadline for naming a replacement. That delay kept USA Swimming from replacing Hardy on its Olympic roster, spots that could have been filled by Tara Kirk and Lara Jackson.

Had the USA determined that Hardy was ineligible quickly, the team could have subbed the 3rd place swimmer -- Kirk -- in here slot.  However, the delay ruined the opportunity to send a substitute.

The UCLA lab incorrectly logged the sample, failing to mark it expedited as requested, and the result later sat, unnoticed, in USADA's offices the weekend before July 21, Ron Judd of the Seattle Times reported Friday. The lab's director, Dr. Anthony Butch, acknowledged that in an interview with the Seattle Times, saying: "We dropped the ball, and we missed it. We clearly made the mistake."

A prepared statement Friday from USADA said, "Both USADA and USA Swimming anticipated that the requested expedited reporting could be fulfilled by the [UCLA] laboratory, understanding that it requires a delicate balance of good thorough science with the need to have results quickly to name teams.

"While under the circumstances it is regrettable that the laboratory was unable to meet the expedited time frame requested by USADA for every sample submitted, the vast majority of the samples from all Olympic Trials were analyzed within the schedule requested."

Gallup Poll: Majority of American sports fans do not think of doping taint in track and swimming records

The Gallup Pole looks at new survey data that inquires American attitudes concerning swimming and track records.  The sample included 626 sports fans.

As the Olympic games get under way in Beijing, most sports fans say they are not suspicious about the use of performance-enhancing drugs when they see or hear about an athlete breaking a world record. Just 35% say they are suspicious about record-setters in track and field, and even fewer, 22%, are suspicious about swimmers who set new world bests.

Here are our takes on the poll:

• It is encouraging that the public endorses confidence in athletes.  Although we see this confidence as naive, where would track's popularity be if the confidence in new records were about zero.
• On the other hand, how much attention does the public pay to track and field?  Does the general sports fan know about the sad recent history of doping in the 100M dash, for instance.
• Swimming receives a 'relative' free pass here.  Does the public know anyone in swimming beyond Michael Phelps and Dara Torres?  Does anyone remember that record holder Amy Van Dyken participated in the BALCO schemes?

The  next question shows a partial naivete on the part of sports fans:

The poll asked sports fans to say how widespread they think the use of performance-enhancing drugs is in each of five popular Olympic sports. In general, fans believe athletes' use of such drugs is not that common. Majorities or near-majorities of sports fans say "only a few" or "no" athletes in track and field, cycling, swimming, and gymnastics use performance-enhancing drugs. Fans are more likely to believe that use of these drugs is common in weightlifting, a sport that has long been plagued by steroid abuse.

We offer the following:

• Fans recognize that lifting is pervaded by PEDs.
• However cycling, and track receive partial passes, which is interesting.

The last question deals with confidence in drug testing: this shows about a 50/50 split.

The International Olympic Committee began drug testing of athletes in 1968, banned the use of steroids by athletes in 1976, and has regularly tested athletes since, adding tests for new performance-enhancing drugs as they become available. Those who have been found to use banned substances are stripped of their medals. However, the testing is far from sufficient to catch all cheaters, because it takes time to develop tests to identify newer steroids, and some of these are designed to be invisible to the tests available at the time.

Sports fans are generally divided as to whether the IOC is doing enough to deal with the use of performance-enhancing drugs by Olympic athletes, with 50% saying it is doing enough and 44% saying it is not.

Tunisian Oussama Mellouli swims in Olympics after 18 month ban for Adderall

Tunisian swimmer Oussama Mellouli will compete for medal as he swims in the 2008 Olympics, even though he tested positive for amphetamines in 2006 (AFP).  Mellouli used Adderall before a world championship meet.  The Court of Arbitration for Sport bought his excuse of using Adderall to complete a paper at USC, two days before the meet.  Interesting, that academic cheating only earns an 18 month suspension.  Convenient that his 18 month ban ended in May of 2008, a couple months before Beijing.

Ousamma Mellouli, having just served out an 18-month doping ban, is the great Arab hope to claim a historic swimming medal at the Beijing Olympics...

Mellouli first feared he may miss out on his second Olympics when he faced a likely two-year doping ban.

The Tunisian claimed the positive result was due to him taking an "Adderall" pill two days earlier so he could stay awake to finish writing a university paper.

The Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled said they were "surprised by the lack of perspicacity" on Mellouli's part in taking the drug so soon before a swimming event.

However, "if the swimmer was indeed guilty of negligence, such negligence was not sufficiently serious to suspend him for two years," CAS added.

CAS decided to suspend Mellouli for 18 months until May 29 just over two months before the Beijing Olympics and stripped him of all results obtained in the Melbourne 2007 world championships.

Mellouli lost a medal in the world meet, but will be allowed in the Olympics.  Nice.

But he was subsequently stripped of the gold medal after testing positive for amphetamines and only completed his ban in May.

With all the talk of Australian champion Grant Hackett, South Korean youngster Park Tae-hwan and Americans Larsen Jensen and Peter Vanderkaay vying for the medals in the 400m freestyle, Mellouli has slipped under the radar.

Mellouli, a graduate in media engineering from the University of Southern California, finished second behind Park in the 400m at last year's world titles before he gave up his medals through his drugs sanction.

Daily Steroid Dose: More Russian dope bans

1.   Russian cyclist Vladimir Gusev (BBC)

Vladimir Gusev has been dropped from the Russian Olympic cycling team after a disputed drugs test.

The 25-year-old was set to compete in the individual time trial on 13 August and had been tipped to win a medal

2.  Steroid charges against Paki cricket star Mohammad Asif 'convincing'.  (Cricinfo)

3. Rwanda cautions their athletes against doping (All Africa)

4. Yahoo Sports talks intensively swimming and doping.

Morning Steroid Injection 04-Aug-2008: Olympics Dope

1.  Here is the nitty gritty of Olympics (CADA) lab testing (EE TImes)

2.   Time Magazine asks what's driving Dara Torres, and apparently concludes it's middle aged women with dreams.  (Time)

3. The Olympics popularity on TV has nose-dived.  That's not dope (The Press)

4.  The Beaver County Times is cynical about the Steeler's doc appointed WWE doc.

Steelers neurological surgeon Dr. Joseph Maroon has been appointed the medical director of World Wrestling Entertainment’s wellness program. Given that wrestling has traditionally been awash with all manner of drug use, especially steroids, should that association bother the Steelers? Is Maroon’s job at WWE detecting steroid use, or masking steroid use?

5.  No BBC at the Beijing Olympics?  At least there is porno. (The Telegraph)

Saturday Evening Steroid Dose: Free Tara Kirk!

1.  New York slice and ditch murderer feasted on "a diet of steroids, cocaine and health food.".  Now that's logical.  The Gothamist

2.  Florida Marlin MILB pitcher Daniel Gil caught with steroids.  The AP

3.  Tara Kirk (above) who finished behind banned swimmer Jessica Hardy, left out in the cold.  That sucks.  Where is the logic?  Kirk should be going to Beijing, end of story.  (WCSN Blog)

4.  The Daily Mail says the IOc and the WADA conducting a blitz campaign against dopers at the Olympics.

5.  Six riders test positive at  the Tour de Columbia...including the top riders there.  (Colombia Report)

Saturday Morning Steroid Injection

1.  The USA loses the 2000 Olympic Gold medal due to doping.  (NY Times)

The International Olympic Committee on Saturday officially disqualified sprinter Antonio Pettigrew and his entire United States 1,600-meter relay team from the 2000 Sydney Games because Pettigrew admitted using performance-enhancing drugs at those Olympics.

2.  The WaPo says enhanced athletes is natural.

3.  Jessica Hardy gives up the dope; re ports say she quit the US Olympic team.  (Louisville Courier-Journal)

Saturday Steroid Injection: Dara Torres, Jessica Hardy, Lance Armstrong

1.  Dara Torres's coach diagnosed with emergency aplastic anemia.  (Miami Herald)

2.  IOC President Jacques Rogge expects 30-40 doping cases.  (LA Times)

3.  The Pittsburgh Pirates lose minor league players to steroids.  (UPI)

The players, both pitchers, are 20-year-old Roman Carrasco and Luis Figuera, 17. Their suspensions carry into 2009 because there are fewer than 50 games remaining in the 2008 season.

Major League Baseball said Friday night that both were tested positive for anabolic steroids -- Carrasco for nandralone and Figuera for stenozolol metabolites.

Um, thats stanozolol (winny) and nandrolone.

4.  THe BBC looks at Jessica Hardy.

5.  These bloggers don't really like Lance Armstrong.  (Drunk Cyclist)

6.  Broward County, FL, doctors implicated in supplying steroids...one a pretty aggressive dude.  (Miami Herald)

Robert Hunt once grabbed a female police officer by the throat during a barroom brawl. It took several bouncers to release his grip, according to state records.

Just two months back, Michael Kenney was stopped by officers who suspected he was driving drunk. Instead of agreeing to a DUI test, he fought back, his criminal charges indicate.

Yet up until this week, Hunt still was a practicing doctor and Kenney a licensed pharmacist.

That changed Thursday, when federal and local agents arrested them both, accusing them of helping people illegally obtain prescription drugs, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.