Drugs in sport.

[Wilier]

The Giro-di-Italia (an Italian version of the Tour-de-France) has just finished, won by a chap called Paulo Savoldelli. Congrats to him, bit of an outsider tbh. This was prolly due to the 3 favorites being hoiked of the race. 2 for failing dope tests, and one for dangerous riding. There was also another 6 riders booted for failing dope tests, either during the race or prior to its start.

Cycling has a very bad rep, due mostly to the Festina affair some years ago when one of the teams doctors was stopped on the Belgium border with a car full of banned performance enhnacing products. But is it just cycling, or are all sports riddled with drugs?

There is no other sport which askes all of its proffessional participants to have blood tests before a season starts, so Im assuming that Cycling, as a whole is trying its hardest to clean up, but do footballers have tests? Tenniss players? Swimmers? Formula 1 drivers?

Addmitedley, its the race organisers who cause most of the problems within cycling. Asking someone to ride an average 110 miles a day at 26mph for three weeks is always going to cause problems. But what about those other sports.

So, the question is.

Should performance enhancing products (currently on the I.O.Cs banned list) be made legal, to level the playing field so to speak?

 

[~Lazarus~]

There are random test for footballers after a game to provide a urine sample (taking the piss )

Levelling the playing field ????. Nope - banned products should stay be banned.

 

[Skyler]

reminds me of online game cheat0ring

 

[Daffeh]

what does 'dangerous riding' consist of?

and cos sport is now such big business generating billions of pounds each year im sure just about every sport has an influence from banned substances

 

[Recoil101]

Originally posted by Wilier Asking someone to ride an average 110 miles a day at 26mph for three weeks is always going to cause problems. [/B]

probably getting this arse about face but....

Thats the sport and thats what these guys train to do, Indurain, Lemond and Armstrong.. all great cyclists that have never had to take drugs to win the big tours. Armstrong in particular, after cancer and coming back to win in a big way....

Taking drugs to gain an advantage is cheating, and there shouldnt be any allowed use of drugs, be it cycling, footy whatever.

Although I beleive there was a problem with one of the England squad who had an Asthma inhaler, an ingredient of which is on the banned list. Now that is a ridiculous position to be in.

 

[Scouse]

Should performance enhancing products (currently on the I.O.Cs banned list) be made legal, to level the playing field so to speak?

If you remove the ban then *all* sportsmen will have to take them to level the playing field.

These drugs often have very dangerous side effects - so to remove the controls would in practical terms force players to risk their health to be at the cutting edge.

 

[Mellow-]

Drugs are bad mm'kay?

Besides, if everyone starts taking them, what will we have, world record with, and world record without? Or will we start whole new championships for each type of drug used for each type of sport?

 

[Scouse]

Lol!

Nah - I wasn't preaching - but if you want an example - look at Arnold Schwarzenegger - he's had a triple heart bypass because of hardening of the arteries causes by steroid use.

And not only that - steroid use as prescribed by a doctor.....

 

[old.Kilostream]

Nah, I think a world record with, and a world record without'd be fine.

The world record without guys'd know they got the best they could naturally, and the world record with guys'd get the ultimat humanly possible, and deal with the triple heart bypasses etc. later.

They got the choice in advance, same as every other choice in life - ya do what ya want, and ya pays the price. (and trust me, I've taken some choices, and paid the price later!!)

Kilo^_^

 

[Scouse]

So - what'd you do with football?

2 consecutive leagues? Get real.

 

[Wilier]

Please dont get me wrong, I am not condoning the use of drugs in sport, Im totally against them.
It just seems that the pharmacists are always one step ahead of the I.O.C. (or UCI or FIFA or whatever)

The big thing in cycling last year was EPO, it has the increases the capability of the blood to carry oxygen. Unfortunatley, this stuff is produced naturally in the body, its effects are also increased when training at altitude. So there is no test that can find the stuff!!. The UCI just ask riders to rest for a while for health reasons if their level of haemaglobin is above 50% (or summat). Sie effects? Thickening blood, heart attack etc.

Daf, dangerous riding was by Francesco Casegrande (the Fassa Bortolo leader) who caused a Mexican chap to crash, needing 30 stitches in his face.

The crappy thing with this race was, one chap (Stefano Garzelli) was kiscked (and will prolly be banned for a year) for using Probencide (sp) which is a masking agent for some kinfd of steroid. Apparently, no-one has used this stuff for years, so what was he thinking of. The other (Gilberto Simoni) was booted for cocaine ffs, a recreational drug taken 3 weeks before the biggest race of his season, I dont think so.

There just seems to be so many flaws with the testing procedures, and so many new products available all the time, its like fighting a losing battle.

And, how do you know that Indurain, Lemond (I wouldnt have put him in the same sentence as Big Mig) and Armstrong wern't using something??

 

[Testin da Cable]

"...ere son, take this now...take that later. it's *cough* vitamins innit..."


Imo the connection between sports and performance-enhancing drugs should be re-evaluated. "What??" I hear you cry heh. You see, on a personal level I think that drugs are detrimental to all sports. They take away the very spirit of the game.
If it were up to me a sportsperson caught taking drugs should be given a warning, but their coach and teamdoc should be banned for life.

I think the sportspeeps are being pushed too hard: you must play, or your funding will be cut. you must play, or your sponsor will drop you. you must play, or your megadeal with brandX will fall through. Oh yeah, our contract says you have to win too. I see people on the playing fields taped up to the eyeballs. Injuries here, there. Playing on painkillers ffs. Where is the fun in that? I thought being an athlete was about love of the game, playing to the best of your abilities. Apparently it's only about winning no matter what. Perhaps I'm just old fashioned heh.