rojo wrote:
TrackCoach wrote:
I appreciate Gray's candidness, but refusing to name athletes from decades ago who took medals away from him, while at the same basically naming a current U.S. athlete is not good. Wilson does not fit with his own logic as in an athlete running 1:53 and the 1:43 a few weeks later. Wilson has made what looks like a normal progression and anyone who has followed her career should not be surprised by her current performances. Wilson was found to have trace amounts of Zeranol in her body. The amount of Zeranol was way below what's required to have performance enhancing capabilities and was consistent with inadvertent usage. Wilson was able to provide a sample of what she ate and proof of purchase. Zeranol would be a poor choice of dope for a number of reasons, it requires sustained use of over a long period of time, it been on the ban list for over 15 years and is easily detected. Perhaps the most important thing that points to Wilson unintentionally doping is the fact that she had her best season after testing positive.
1) I liked the interview.
2) I knew he'd get flak for saying he found Ajee to be suspicious but applaud him for telling the truth.
As I stated, I appreciate Gray's candidness, but yes, what comes with that is potential blowback when you talk about other people. For an active coach to specifically call out a U.S. athlete as he did with Lipsey based on nothing more than performance improvement, went too far. Athletes get better all the time for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with doping. In terms of Wilson, contaminated beef is absolutely real. In July, I interviewed a Wisconsin dairy famer who talked at length about the drugs given to cattle and the effects on human development. The cheapest beef which is sold mostly to U.S. low end supermarkets and fast food restaurants contains so much dope that it can't be exported most other countries. More elite athletes don't test positive from contaminated beef for simple fact that most of them are not full time students eating from vendor trucks and fast food restaurants. Also, its just a matter of luck. Athletes only receive 3-4 OOC tests, basically, even a real doper has a low statistical chance of getting caught if they are taking small dosages and monitoring their blood. In Wilson's case, she was unlucky, she just happened to get tested around the time she consumed the contaminated beef. USADA/WADA has been studying the contaminated beef issue for decades and has a good handle on the levels of Zeranol it takes to intentionally dope, versus eating a cheese steak sandwich. FTR, Wilson was busted for what is described as trace amounts, which would have no PE properties and was consistent with inadvertent doping. Also, I just happen to know Derek and Wilson, they are extremely old-school. I don't want to describe them as unsophisticated, but I bet they know less about doping than the average LRC member. Wilson made the mistake of allowing her busy schedule to cause her to not be careful about what and where she ate.
Please note he did not say say she's on drugs. He just find it all hard to believe.
I hate the state of modern day journalism. For the most part, interviews just give out PR talk that means nothing. Because if they say anything that is controversial they get ripped as they "have no proof."
3) As I thought about it some last night, I was thinking, "What he said is common sense" if you don't have a science degree which most of us don't have.
I think it comes down to the public doesn't know what to think about doping as we don't have science degrees. In my mind, the USADA press release doesn't give out enough info. The average person doesn't get whay low "part per billion" means. What would a doper have? Would it be part per 10,000? I have no clue.
If contaminated beef is real, then why don't more people test positive? If parts per billion is miniscule and not a performance enhancer, then why are we even bothering to detect it at that low level.
It's kind of like Lagat's EPO positive A. I asked a science friend of mine if one really could have an A be positive and B be negative and he said yes. But again I don't really know that as I"m not an expert.
So it's kind of like going to car mechanic, you have to believe what the people in charge are telling you. In my mind, USADA has proven to me they want to catch cheats so I trust them but most people may just lump them with all sports administrations - which certainly have proven themselves to be corrupt/inept on so many levels whether its the MLB, NFL, FIFA , IOC.