Doping in other sports

[tigger]

I've posted this link on another thread before, but the graph at the bottom makes interesting reading. Shows how far cycling has come in recent years. We are no longer the dirtiest sport in terms of % of positives! Terrible statement by the Guardian stating that footballers are the most tested in terms of total number of tests. I'd like to know how many pro footballers there are globally. Greater than 50% more cyclists that for sure!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/datablog/2012/jul/04/olympics-2012-athletics

 

[Trail Child]

Remember that Canadian kid who lost his snowboarding medal for using performance enhancing drugs, whoever decided that had never smoked a joint and that's for sure.
"Oh wow, which way to the snow man?"

Or they decided that everyone from British Columbia was going to be positive for Pot anyway ... LOL.

 

[Trail Child]

My dad was a pro hockey player & my mum was a pro figure skater in the 60s and both tell stories of seeing PEDs back then, especially hockey.

 

[HLaB]

EPO was being used by Juventus in the mid 90s before it really caught on in cycling. They won 2 champions league during that period (not just on EPO but they were taking other things too) - no one seems to care though, certainly no talk of stripping their medals or how every winner since is tainted because someone cheated in the past and got away with it. In more recent years some clubs have been up front about their use of blood spinning to improve recovery times. Seemingly acceptable and no controversy, but if a cyclist does it then it is a doping scandal (and rightly so).

 

[albion]

Lots of sports stars suddenly bulk up real big.

It could be innocent but always looks suspect.

WSC did a write up on Juventus.
http://www.wsc.co.uk/the-archive/923-Europe/1730-negative-results

"Following the declaration by sports minister Girolamo Sirchia that the problem of doping is “widespread”, a nervous Roma have confessed to giving muscle-enhancing Voltaren to players, and random EPO-testing is to be reintroduced in January."

That was 2005 but I do imagine positive results in football are kept well away from the media.

 

[ayceejay]

Hey Trail Child. That's you dad who had his teeth removed sans anesthetic eh?

 

[Trail Child]

Hey Trail Child. That's you dad who had his teeth removed sans anesthetic eh?

My dad doesn't have teeth. What hockey player does, eh? LOL.

 

[Strathlubnaig]

My dad was a pro hockey player & my mum was a pro figure skater in the 60s and both tell stories of seeing PEDs back then, especially hockey.

pretty sure the goaltenders back in the day sans masks must have been on something !!

 

[oldroadman]

The correct question to ask is, what is xxx sport doing to combat the possibility of doping, how many tests do they carry out both in and out of competition, how many non-negatives, do the peole involved get properly prosecuted, what are the sanctions? You may find cycling comes out rather well on the percentages.

 

[Strathlubnaig]

Story on eurosport here about lack of doping controls in pro tennis "Djokovic said last week that he had not been blood tested "in six or seven months".
Probably a similar story in other sports too.

 

[Andrew_P]

It is rampant in all sports, and a lot easier to do than in cycling.

 

[thom]

Story on eurosport here about lack of doping controls in pro tennis "Djokovic said last week that he had not been blood tested "in six or seven months".
Probably a similar story in other sports too.

Guy Forget says there's always been doping in tennis.
This was mentioned on the Today program this morning too.

 

[Crankarm]

Table tennis?

 

[aces_up1504]

I think the issue is, once a sport is perceived to have a doping problem which has come up with postive failures a number of times. Then actions are put in place as per cycling and athletes to find how systemic the problem is and hopefully remove it.

If we saw a number of footballers failing for a particular performance enhancing drug, there would no doubt be a increase in the in the number of tests until those failures come along, the sport will be thought of being relatively clean

 

[oldroadman]

I think the issue is, once a sport is perceived to have a doping problem which has come up with postive failures a number of times. Then actions are put in place as per cycling and athletes to find how systemic the problem is and hopefully remove it.

If we saw a number of footballers failing for a particular performance enhancing drug, there would no doubt be a increase in the in the number of tests until those failures come along, the sport will be thought of being relatively clean

Exactly, and you don't find non-negatives until you have a proper testing programme, and if you don't have a proper testing programme you don't find non-negatives, and so the merry go round continues.
Sports have to WANT to be clean to monitor doping properly, and where there is big money and politics involved (e.g. FIFA) therer is simply to will to do it, as the last thing they want to find is a problem!
If anyone mentions cycling as a sport with a problem to me, my response is that at least we are working hard to find out the dopers, unlike those sports who would prefer not to know.