There is barely enough money in the sport to afford the equipment, travel for races and training, and living expenses. No big shoe contract, your boat company doesn’t have the margins to do much more than give you a free boat if you’re lucky. Unless there is a state sponsored doping program, the financial incentive just isn’t there. Most of these athletes have other jobs and side hustles.
There is barely enough money in the sport to afford the equipment, travel for races and training A, and living expenses. No big shoe contract, your boat company doesn’t have the margins to do much more than give you a free boat if you’re lucky. Unless there is a state sponsored doping program, the financial incentive just isn’t there. Most of these athletes have other jobs and side hustles.
So I guess that the women seen in the first post are natural wonders then.
But how does a sport that has so little financial incentive can attract these kind of people?
Another wild guess is that a sport that generate so little money would have a very low budget for drug testing
Are you asking this question based on any specific evidence or just because these women who are the best in the world at what they do are more muscular than most non-Olympic athletes?
There is barely enough money in the sport to afford the equipment, travel for races and training A, and living expenses. No big shoe contract, your boat company doesn’t have the margins to do much more than give you a free boat if you’re lucky. Unless there is a state sponsored doping program, the financial incentive just isn’t there. Most of these athletes have other jobs and side hustles.
So I guess that the women seen in the first post are natural wonders then.
But how does a sport that has so little financial incentive can attract these kind of people?
Another wild guess is that a sport that generate so little money would have a very low budget for drug testing
You mean the Olympic gold medalist? I’d say “natural wonder” is a fitting term for everyone walking home with gold.
What's the problem you see here? People doing something requiring upper body strength and power actually training their asses off and as a consequence having upper body muscles? And you find it more suspicious than sprint runner who absolutely don't need upper body strength or power but still have the same upper body muscles?
Kayaking/canoeing could be the poster child for sports less popular than running. I can't imagine there is much out of competition testing. Doping is relatively cheap. Testing for ped use is expensive - it requires people with science degrees who command high salaries, travel for the testers, enough interest in the sport to actually test, etc.
Most competitive rowers come from money. The sport itself doesn't make you any money, so the people who get into it typically already have the money to comfortably practice it let alone compete at the elite level.
I wouldn't be surprised if these athletes were on gear. British Rowing basically had their own doping program for years and years in the 80's-90's. But beyond that, most nations don't bother going that far anymore because obviously the event doesn't have much prestige. However, that doesn't mean individual athletes/teams won't juice to get an edge. Not surprising it carried over into canoe/kayak.
Most competitive rowers come from money. The sport itself doesn't make you any money, so the people who get into it typically already have the money to comfortably practice it let alone compete at the elite level.
I wouldn't be surprised if these athletes were on gear. British Rowing basically had their own doping program for years and years in the 80's-90's. But beyond that, most nations don't bother going that far anymore because obviously the event doesn't have much prestige. However, that doesn't mean individual athletes/teams won't juice to get an edge. Not surprising it carried over into canoe/kayak.
Rowing and Canoe are two different sports who don't fall in the same umbrella at Olympics.
There is barely enough money in the sport to afford the equipment, travel for races and training, and living expenses. No big shoe contract, your boat company doesn’t have the margins to do much more than give you a free boat if you’re lucky. Unless there is a state sponsored doping program, the financial incentive just isn’t there. Most of these athletes have other jobs and side hustles.
Masters road running doesn't have much financial incentive, but plenty of people are doping there.
Most competitive rowers come from money. The sport itself doesn't make you any money, so the people who get into it typically already have the money to comfortably practice it let alone compete at the elite level.
I wouldn't be surprised if these athletes were on gear. British Rowing basically had their own doping program for years and years in the 80's-90's. But beyond that, most nations don't bother going that far anymore because obviously the event doesn't have much prestige. However, that doesn't mean individual athletes/teams won't juice to get an edge. Not surprising it carried over into canoe/kayak.
Rowing and Canoe are two different sports who don't fall in the same umbrella at Olympics.
As a side - A great book by David Halberstam, 'The Amateurs', follows elite rowers (singe-man scullers) as they train for the '84 Olympics. Plying their sport without any financial reward. Sound familiar?
Most competitive rowers come from money. The sport itself doesn't make you any money, so the people who get into it typically already have the money to comfortably practice it let alone compete at the elite level.
I wouldn't be surprised if these athletes were on gear. British Rowing basically had their own doping program for years and years in the 80's-90's. But beyond that, most nations don't bother going that far anymore because obviously the event doesn't have much prestige. However, that doesn't mean individual athletes/teams won't juice to get an edge. Not surprising it carried over into canoe/kayak.
Rowing and Canoe are two different sports who don't fall in the same umbrella at Olympics.
They both require time commitment and money, open bodies of water, and a ton of free time and support. They both require similar skills.
There is barely enough money in the sport to afford the equipment, travel for races and training, and living expenses. No big shoe contract, your boat company doesn’t have the margins to do much more than give you a free boat if you’re lucky. Unless there is a state sponsored doping program, the financial incentive just isn’t there. Most of these athletes have other jobs and side hustles.
Weightlifters, powerlifters, and gym rats all use PEDs routinely despite the complete lack of money or even recognition in those sports. Many people just enjoy juicing and training. In the early 90s at my gym we discussed this and noted that we couldn't think of a single individual who got into the gym and became a regular and hadn't tried at least a couple cycles.
Maybe in Brazil and the Seine. The water in New Zealand, Canada and the Pacific Northwest is actually quite clean. What I would recommend is that you go out and row a couple hours each day and see how your arms look after a couple months. I did a couple multi-week canoe and kayak trips up into Canada when I was younger where I’d go about 10 miles each day. I’d come back jacked and about 5-10 pounds lighter. It’s great exercise.
