TrackCoach
mark b wrote:
If the stuff was legal prior to 01/01/2016 it does seem a little harsh to ban someone for a lengthy period for taking it a few weeks after that date. Why suddenly ban a substance that has - apparently - been quite widely used for years? On what grounds are some things banned and others not? That something improves performance? In that case ban injections of vitamins, something that is very widely done across all sports. That something is dangerous to health? Pretty much any drug - asprin, ibuprofen, paracetamol etc. - is dangerous if you visit your local chemist, load up on the stuff and take vast quantities of it. Are any of the PEDs on the banned list really dangerous to health if they are taken under medical supervision as part of a closely supervised programme?
We all want "clean" sport and to see "cheats" caught and punished but the sport is in danger of making itself look ridiculous if it goes round banning anything and everything that might possibly aid performance including stuff that athletes have been using for years.
This is the situation USATF found itself in back in 1988 with Carl Lewis, the stimulant he was busted for was only added to ban list 4 weeks prior and actually taken off the ban list a year or tow later.