AG drug testing is upon us
Looks like we have our first AG'er getting busted and suspended:
http://lavamagazine.com/news/wtc-announces-anti-doping-rule-violation-2/
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Looks like we have our first AG'er getting busted and suspended:
http://lavamagazine.com/news/wtc-announces-anti-doping-rule-violation-2/
Comments
This is no random age grouper. Moats is a multi Kona age group world champion. That's why I keep asking for testing at the front of the field. He is actually a few yrs older than me, yet someone I could not possibly beat. He typically qualifies at IMFL which is one reason I haven't gone back. Due to the cost of testing, I do not believe this is the start of a huge wave, but it is certainly a positive development. If WTC keeps Moats from racing this year (he was on the participant list last I checked) then my hat is off to them.
However, what kind of punishment is it when you announce the finding on 18 Oct, then give a 1'yr suspension retroactive to 1 Jan. Apart from IMFL ( for Moats) the season is over.
And he's also a very, very, very well known blatant cheater. Rides with a mirror on his race helmet, I can name about 5 people who've told me, first-hand, how he rode inches off their wheel for an entire race, and much more. Sociopathic levels of dishonesty.
I completely agree!
He's taking a well deserved beating over on ST right now.
I agree. Someone definitely tipped them off. Several sources I would imagine because they wouldn't do it based off one complaint.
There's some chirping over on ST that Jimmy Riccitello had enough of Moats' shenanigans and pushed the issue with WTC.
Anyway, I too support testing among the AG crowd. Ideally, it would be a fraction of the podium people (10%?) and just a random handful of other people. To be a little snarky, WTC could match the number of Kona/LV spots with the number of tests. :-)
Mirrors aren't illegal.
Mirrors are used for safety on the roads in a training / commuting environment, so fine to see them on regular helmets, barends, covered in pink tassles on P's road bike, etc
But a mirror on a RACING helmet, worn by a guy who's been at the top of his AG for decades...just makes you go hhhmmmmmmmm
John,
I'm not sure I compeletely agree with the lifetime ban for a first offense. Having said that, in no way do I condone the use of PED's in sport. In a past lift time I competed in figure skating, 20 years ago and was a possible subject of testing. While I was never randomly selected the list of over the shelf products that could get you dinged in competition was long and complex. I was not a pharmacist and typically just stayed away from anything banned even if there were limits involved. For example if you were sick there were certain decongestants that could not be used, cough drop and syrups.
As for things like EPO I don't see that there should be any trace of this and perhaps this should lead to a two tier system of bans, but this will cloud matters. Basically I don't want to penalize the indidvudal who makes a mistake or is ignorant of the rules with a life time ban. I have more sympathy for the former than the latter as ignorance of the rules should be no excuse. I had the little book and took it to the drug store with me. It also helped to have a mother that was a nurse and dealt with drugs/pharmacology in the operating room. The people that get me are the individuals who use it outright for performace enhancment.
Anyway it's good to see the out of competition testing but I do believe the ban of 1 year especially considering Moats has served most of it already is too short. It will force him to find a different place to qualify for Kona other than than no big deal. It would have been nice to see the ban cover at least 1 world chanpionship race and not retroactively. I'm talking no Kona or Vegas in 2013 for him.
Gordon
Sorry, I have no tolerance for PED's, whatsoever. 2 year ban, minimum. And this should be a USAT ban, not just a WTC ban...
I agree Mike.
And he should get a big spanking.
Maybe a surcharge at the time of registration for AG testing. If you choose not to pay, you do not qualify for AG awards or Kona consideration. Then another surcharge for everyone who goes to Kona. Maybe that would indicate WTC is serious about fairness, as well as raise awareness about "innocent" drugs needing TUEs. @ $50, I bet this would generate over half a million dollars from IM races alone.
The more I think about this, the more I see that athletes themselves have to lead the way. I'm prepared to send a letter and petition to Jimmy Ricotello and Andrew Messick expressing the concerns of athletes. I would seek signatures from here and Slowtwitch, and if a significant number of people are willing to sign, get this issue to them. But it's gotta be hundreds of people to get their attention.
Or would I just be pissing in the wind (as opposed to a cup)?
Moreover, I don't think a lifetime ban would be appropriate for a 1st offense, given the possibility of innocent violations (like supplements that don't disclose that they contain banned substances). 2 years is probably fair.
Now that was funny !
I don't think it is a waste of time if you believe in it. Ironman makes a lot of dough and they could shell out the bucks to clean house if they wanted to open their wallet and put fourth the effort. The races are run by volunteers. They put forward logistics out of pocket expense then cash in. So the argument of an additional cost is going no where in my world.
Aside note is , Say Lance is stripped of his titles. The 2nd place guy has already been charged with or caught doping X7 . The point is a very large percent do it. The culture is everywhere biking, football, baseball and body building to movies. Look at Arnold Schwarzenegger he eventually need a heart operation cause he messed up his heart with steroids. Stallone comes to mind with a recent bust having HCG, who looks like that in there 60s ?
That said, I do believe that there are many due process violations in the realm of testing and sanctions in sport. I suspect overly harsh sanctions for first offenses risks us ending up with an officiating body that wields power in a way we would not like and do not belive is fair.
More testing, of more people, over longer time periods would allow a better chance of catching cheaters and creating stronger incentives among dopers to clean up their act.
In the AG ranks I have a small streak of "give me a break, we are racing for PB's...if people want to be idiots and do that to their bodies for no reason, why should I care?". But those thoughts are fleeting because (a) qualifying for Kona is a huge deal for IM athletes and you need to be winning your AG inmany cases to do that, and (b) as a "BOFOP" guy who is battling HARD for an extra placing and would love to crack the top 5 at a WTC event, I realize that competing with others is part of what creates motivation to improve, train, and have fun...and if people aren't playing fair then that ought to be dealt with...just like if people are drafting, cutting the course, etc.
I bet the number would be alarming and far beyond what most of us think it would be. I bet the T usage in 40+ AG'ers is very high.
The USADA doesn't give TUEs for normal Life-cycle low testosterone (hypogonadism), but only for genetic conditions that lead to it. And the TUE must be renewed annually. The TUE form has a list of acceptable genetic conditions, and I believe most of them have to be verified with extensive lab and/or DNA tests.
I say we all take T , then we will be like everyone else , lets level the playing field !