With many of the Olympic sports we watch every four years on the TV under scrutiny thanks to Marion Jones, Justin Gatlin, and many others, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has introduced blood testing for doping at the Olympic trials for track and field this weekend and will use them for swimmers next week as well, reports the TAMPA TRIBUNE.
Essentially, the agency is trying to catch users of HGH or anything that would enhance oxygen transfer. The article cites blood transfusions and “synthetic hemoglobin” as two of the particular methods that could be detected by the blood test but aren’t through the usual urinalysis.
The top three finishers in each trial will get the testing treatment. Given that the recent tests for EPO aren’t worth a thing, we’ll all just sit and watch with subconscious thoughts of who’s on what designer drug anyway, regardless of what barriers USADA tries to put in place.
1:27 pm on June 28th, 2008
So would it make more sense for some of these athletes to make sure they take 4th or 5th place to assure themselves a spot on the Olympic team?
Think about it….. now it seems like most winners are cheating somehow. If the 1-3 place finishers are tested immediately after the race and come up positive a short time later then they are disqualified. As a 4th place finisher you get moved up into their spot, and I don’t believe you’d be subjected to the same test since the race was over for so long, correct?
It would make sense if you are using to try to not finish in the top 3. You won’t get caught and you’ve got a pretty good shot of getting bumped up into the Olympics. Watch to see if anybody seems to be holding back during the trials.