1987. High school math class. Teacher brings up an article about steroids that had been printed in the local newspaper, including a quote about how they didn't even work.
Notably jacked student, not a member of any athletic team but successful on a national level in an individual, non-scholastic port: "That's such BS! Of course they work. They don't know anything about dosing cycles and..."
1987. High school math class. Teacher brings up an article about steroids that had been printed in the local newspaper, including a quote about how they didn't even work.
Notably jacked student, not a member of any athletic team but successful on a national level in an individual, non-scholastic port: "That's such BS! Of course they work. They don't know anything about dosing cycles and..."
Awkward silence follows.
Similar experience a couple years after I retired from coaching (30 years) and was teaching a high school economics class. A non-athlete high school boy who was jacked announced that he got a job at Abercrombie & Fitch. What transpired was an open discussion about his steroid/weight lifting routine at a local gym under the supervision of his fitness coach. He credited that coach with helping him get a job at the store. He never quite grasped the cost benefit analysis unit.
I was taking testoserine for a while many years ago not for athletic Proformance but to survive A BRUTAL swing shift that lasted 30 plus years! I also Coached track! I was sitting in the lobby and here comes a kid on the team to get his shot! Happens all the time! Do not put your head in the sand on this one
Someone who only runs 4:38 in the 1600 dopes, but we're supposed to believe everyone running under 4:00 in HS is clean? And we're supposed to pretend there are no incentives to dope if you're in college or HS - money (scholarship or NIL), admission to ones you wouldn't otherwise have gotten into, etc?
This is really the big one. Like the Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase always said "Everybody's got a price".
It's ruined big money sports like Football and Basketball and it's going to ruin track. Because all you need now is one performance and some agent or brand is just waiting in the shadows to sign you up to an "NIL" with the promise of a pro contract. Look at what's going on in NCAA track right now especially in distance running. I've made no secret my bemusement at how Oregon has a "1.42" Kenyan Olympian on their team who is on a full ride and six figures of Nike NIL money and he's not even a better runner than the best American High school 2-lapper.
You create an incentive to create yourself an advantage - either by hard work or "other stuff" and people are going to find a way to make it happen, all for the sake of money.
My daughter was on his team. He had a great philosophy and work out plans. My daughter did really well with his program. I’m actually pretty surprised that he did this, he always seemed like a high character guy. I know his son was injury prone and maybe they got desperate. Not making excuses, it’s pretty terrible.
The only people who get caught are dupes and nobodies. Athletics is a business, the best are all ringfenced off from getting caught. Its truly obvious this is how the world works.
For Gods sake an ex American 100m rep was literally working and still is as a snitch. His Facebook is literally spook central. You CAN dope but you have to get the ok from the Big Boys! Which is why Ingo has played this theatre with his Dad. Ingo is a Made Man! Miles Mathis calls it the "Men are Pigs" op. Daddy's a Baddy!
The lunatics who run the world think undermining the father in the home is the future! Oh my, how much fun are us haters of life going to have in the coming years! Bring on The End Times.
The dad had a prescription for testosterone and also happened to be competing in local races. He wasn't particularly fast, but he did pick up some age group awards. Not a good look.
Look at it this way: there is next to no incentive for someone to blow the whistle on a high school kid who can't even run below 4:30. He's in no danger of winning a state meet (or probably even getting to one). Meanwhile, there are a ton of incentives for those at the top to keep an eye on each other. I don't buy the "everyone is doing it and being silent about it" theory, because it requires far too much coordination and secrecy than exists in reality.
There is a ton of incentive and that incentive is the kid's health. Doping at 16 could cause future infertility and low testosterone for the remainder of your life.
This post was edited 2 minutes after it was posted.
I don't have a troll routine. We established in another thread that "skeptic" was a better term.
No, we didn't. Doping denier or doping apologist is the proper description.
No. I don't deny doping generally, nor specifically if there is compelling evidence, and I never apologize for intentionally doping for performance, when it is against the rules.
This post was edited 6 minutes after it was posted.
This just shows how easy it can be for a parent to dope or assist in doping a high school athlete. I looked the kid up....he isn't even fast. So if very average 15-16 year olds are doping why is it so hard for people to beleive that many others dope?
100% this
Someone who only runs 4:38 in the 1600 dopes, but we're supposed to believe everyone running under 4:00 in HS is clean? And we're supposed to pretend there are no incentives to dope if you're in college or HS - money (scholarship or NIL), admission to ones you wouldn't otherwise have gotten into, etc?
I would suspect the 4:38 1600m runner more than the 4:00 runner, of trying to use doping to become something he is not.
A good example of the deeply engrained cultural use of PEDs in the US
Interesting it’s yet another case of doping that emanated from whistleblowing…as testing alone doesn’t seem to do much for clean sports in the US T&F and road/XC/ultra running.
With the suspension the father will now have to find a proxy coach (the mum?) as a front while still carrying out his work in the shadows with his son Gallen
no need to take down your Cole Hocker, Hoey or Young posters from your room young man, you’ll be back in 18 months 💪
The dad had a prescription for testosterone and also happened to be competing in local races. He wasn't particularly fast, but he did pick up some age group awards. Not a good look.
Well, now….. I recall a story of another West Coast young athlete who was allegedly rubbed with testosterone cream. The cream had allegedly been subject to some “in house” testing, so it was deemed safe. lol.
Track and Field Coach Michael Vowell and Track and Field Athlete Seth Vowell Accept Sanctions for Anti-Doping Rule Violations
Colorado Springs, Colo. (June 30, 2025) – USADA announced today that Michael Vowell, a coach in the sport of track and field, and Seth Vowell, an athlete in the sport of track and field, both of Richmond, Texas, have accepted sanctions for anti-doping rule violations.
“This case is a devastating example of why it’s so important for athlete support personnel, including coaches and parents, to put athlete well-being above all else, especially when involving minors,” said USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart. “And when they don’t, as in this case, they will be held accountable to the full force of the rules.”
After receiving information from a whistleblower, USADA initiated an investigation that uncovered evidence demonstrating that Michael Vowell, 49, administered his own prescription testosterone gel to his minor child, Seth Vowell, 16, at the 2023 USA Track & Field Junior Olympic Cross-Country Championships on December 10, 2023. Testosterone is a non–Specified Substance in the class of Anabolic Agents and is prohibited at all times under the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee National Anti-Doping Policies, and the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules, all of which have adopted the World Anti-Doping Code (the Code) and the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List.
Michael Vowell’s actions constituted anti-doping rule violations for possession of a prohibited substance, administration of a prohibited substance, and complicity. He accepted a lifetime period of ineligibility for his violations. Based on the circumstances of the case, Seth Vowell qualified for a reduced two-year period of ineligibility for his testosterone use anti-doping rule violation.
Michael Vowell’s lifetime period of ineligibility began on March 19, 2025, the date he was provisionally suspended. Seth Vowell’s two-year period of ineligibility also began on March 19, 2025, the date he was provisionally suspended. In addition, Seth Vowell has been disqualified from all competitive results obtained on and after December 10, 2023, the date he used testosterone, including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes.
In an effort to aid athletes, as well as support team members such as parents, coaches, and medical professionals in understanding the rules applicable to them, USADA provides comprehensive instruction on its website on the testing process and prohibited substances, how to file and update athlete Whereabouts, how to obtain permission to use a necessary medication, and the risks and dangers of taking supplements, as well as performance-enhancing and recreational drugs.
In addition, USADA manages a drug reference hotline, Global Drug Reference Online (GlobalDRO.com), conducts educational sessions with National Governing Bodies and their athletes, and distributes a multitude of educational materials, such as a supplement guide, a nutrition guide, a clean sport handbook, and periodic alerts and advisories.
USADA makes available a number of ways to report the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs in sport in an effort to protect clean athletes and promote clean competition. Any tip can be reported using the USADA Play Clean Tip Center, by text at 87232 ("USADA"), by email at playclean@USADA.org, by phone at 1-877-Play Clean (1-877-752-9253) or by mail.
USADA is responsible for the testing and results management process for athletes in the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement and is equally dedicated to preserving the integrity of sport through research initiatives and educational programs.
Dear Robert, don't delete my comments I'm a real person but hear that I am not surprised that this is happening especially as we all know what happened with the Hamza Driouch ordeal when he was also a teenager. Probably the same for Mo Aman his friend.
What surprises me though is why it has taken so long to bust just one case when all our conscience tells us this is probably every day occurrence in ALL the campuses across America and Canada!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I like Travis Tygart's hyper-attitudes towards antidoping and we all remember his earnestness in interviewing and colloraboting with Rodchenkov and exposing the Russia fraud!!!!!!!