New facts are coming to light about drug cover-ups by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

I have a few reactions to this story. None of them involve surprise or shock. Read it carefully and I'm not sure the facts really indicate there's all that much there.

I don't know what or whether anything has changed since '88. Clearly the racket at that time (and, I suspect, still) was to use the performance enhancing drugs during the training/conditioning period leading up to the event, then knock off in sufficient time to clear your system in time for the event and the accompanying drug test. That's where Ben Johnson fell down. He was either continuing to use while at the Olympics, or discontinued use too late. Looks like he lost his medal because he was the biggest drug abuser on the track, not necessarily the only one.

USOC policy may indicate an acceptance of this reality. I'm not sure I really have a problem with it. It's not ideal, but it may be the best you can do. I believe performance enhancing drugs are pervasive, especially at the elite level. [Donovan Bailey's apparent belief that it's a primarily American phenomenon notwithstanding.] National committees are unlikely to punish any but the most severe offenders when international championships are on the line. It's their call, they clearly had, perhaps still do have some leeway in these matters. As the article states "It's good to have more independent agencies now, and a set of procedures that are public and open to scrutiny." I assume that means there's been some improvment in the policing mechanism. I'm not sure how much of an effect it will have on the abusive practice itself. I remain unconvinced that the whole process can succeed in doing any more than catching an unlucky few.

The article indicates that "USOC executives frequently excused positive tests as inadvertent use instead of imposing suspensions." The implication is that these were not cases of inadvertent use. There's no conclusive evidence presented that would support that contention. The only drugs cited by name in the article in reference to the Lewis case, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and phenylpropanolamine, are very common ingredients in hundreds of over the counter medications. The levels "may" have affected his performance at the trials. To my knowledge there's no contention he tested positive at the Olympics in '88 as Johnson did.

Richard Pound may think "the USOC has some explaining to do for calling it inadvertent" -that doesn't make it so. They may want to explain the rules to Mr. Pound. They were well within their rights to take a pass on these results as "inadvertent use" if they felt that what they were. He may not like it, and it sure could look better, but he's sprinting to judgement in implying that they colluded with star athletes in the abuse of banned substances. He's also Canadian and his comments hardly seem impartial in the overall context of this article. Much of it comes off as more whining from north of the border where tears are quickly replacing drugs as the favored performance enhancer.

The original investigation and article came from the Orange County Register, an American publication.

Link to original article.

[ April 17, 2003, 11:25 AM: Message edited by: canmark ]

Maybe Carl was upset about these accusations:

April 21, 2003
Track Star Carl Lewis Is Arrested
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


Filed at 7:13 p.m. ET

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis was arrested for investigation of misdemeanor driving under the influence after a one-car accident early Monday.

The 41-year-old track star wasn't injured in the accident on Interstate 110 in South Los Angeles.

The California Highway Patrol found Lewis alone in a 2004 Maserati and noticed signs of alcohol intoxication, Officer Joseph Pace said.

Lewis failed a series of field sobriety tests and was arrested, Pace said. A breath test given later at a police station showed Lewis' blood-alcohol level was .08 percent, the level at which a driver is considered intoxicated in California.

Pace said it's possible Lewis struck a sound wall next to the freeway, because his car was damaged on the right side.

Lewis, who had a Texas driver's license, was released to a friend.

The case was scheduled for July 7 in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Ohmigod! He was driving so fast (exceeding the speed of light?) that he drove his 2004 car from future all the way into present-day L.A. Wow.

I don't know how I feel about this. The USTA is really standing firm in support of Mary Joe Fernandez, which I think is very appropriate. She apparently took some Sudafed for a cold and that's what made her test positive. While I recognize that this could just be a line, I think it's pretty clear to anyone whoever saw Mary Joe play tennis that she wasn't on any performance enhancing drugs. The woman was chronically sick with endometriosis and was thin as a rail. So, knowing that side of MJ's story, I find it hard to take the rest of the accusations seriously.

Well, that poor Rumanian gymnast was stripped of her gold medal and suspended from competition for a year for testing positive for pseudoephedrine from an over-the-counter cold remedy. The fact that it was obviously not her intention to cheat (and I don't think anyone seriously thought she won because of the pseudoephedrine), cut no dice with the Olympics.

It seems to me the real difference is that Johnson was caught by the IOC, not by the USOC.

Carl speaks out (again), although he does seem to be protesting a bit too much:

April 23, 2003
Lewis Says Drug Accusations Are 'Dead Issue'
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 4:10 a.m. ET

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Carl Lewis can't understand all the attention he's getting. Fifteen years after Lewis won an Olympic gold medal in the 100 meters, the manager of former Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson is demanding that Lewis give it back.

``It's ridiculous; who cares?'' Lewis said Tuesday after an appearance at the University of Southern California. ``I did 18 years of track and field and I've been retired five years, and they're still talking about me.''

Morris Chrobotek, Johnson's manager, told the Sydney Morning Herald last week that he plans legal action in response to documents purporting to show that Lewis and other U.S. athletes were allowed to compete at the 1988 Seoul Olympics after failing drug tests.

``So he's going to sue hundreds of people? Would you expect him to say anything different?'' Lewis asked. ``It's a dead issue, it really is.''

Lewis was declared the winner in the 100 meters when Johnson was stripped of his gold medal and world record after testing positive for a banned steroid. Lewis also won the long jump and finished his career with nine Olympic golds.

Dr. Wade Exum, the U.S. Olympic Committee's director for drug control from 1991-2000, released more than 30,000 pages of documents to Sports Illustrated last week that he says show Lewis, tennis player Mary Joe Fernandez and others tested positive but still were allowed to compete.

The Orange County (Calif.) Register published a similar report, based on documents it obtained.

``The only thing I can say is I think it's unfortunate what Wade Exum is trying to do,'' Lewis said.

The USOC has called Exum's accusations baseless.

Exum said Lewis tested positive three times at the 1988 Olympic trials for small amounts of banned stimulants found in cold medications. The USOC first disqualified Lewis, then reversed itself after he appealed, claiming inadvertent use.

``I don't know what people are trying to make out of nothing because everyone was treated the same, so what are we talking about?'' Lewis said.

He said a different climate existed in drug testing in 1988.

``At that time, if you had an offense once, then they usually wanted to check to see what the substance was, then they gave a warning,'' Lewis said. ``That's why there were so many people.

``Most of the names nobody knew, so it's not like they were picking people out and doping. That was the policy.''

Baaron Pittenger, who was executive director of the USOC in 1988, said Tuesday that an investigation at the time concluded the level of banned stimulants found in Lewis' system -- mostly ephedrine --was not significant enough to be performance-enhancing. That prompted the USOC to reverse its decision.

``The rules at the time called for us to determine intent. These levels were less than 10 micrograms per milliliter, consistent with accidental use,'' he said.

Pittenger noted if a test found the same levels in an athlete today, it would not even require the lab to notify doping authorities. He also said Lewis and Santa Monica Track Club teammates Joe DeLoach and Floyd Heard told the USOC before the Olympics they were not taking cold medication, but were using a supplement that included the Chinese herb Ma Huang. The active ingredient in Ma Huang is ephedrine.

Lewis said there's still debate about whether stimulants at those low levels give athletes an unfair advantage. But there is no longer any question about penalties: Two years ago, the International Olympic Committee said tests finding ephedrine levels at 10 micrograms per milliliter or higher would be considered positive.

``There really is no pure evidence to show that it does something; it does nothing,'' he said. ``Now the policy has changed. You get three months (probation) on one of these right now, and the second time you get a suspension.''

The 41-year-old Lewis was arrested for investigation of misdemeanor driving under the influence after his 2004 Maserati hit a wall along a Los Angeles freeway early Monday.

The California Highway Patrol said a breath test showed his blood-alcohol level was .08 percent, a reading at which a driver is considered intoxicated in California.