drug tests, troubling results

About five years ago, triathlete Karen Smyers came second in two games and she learned that she had failed the drug test.
A senior official at the Triathlon national authority called to inform her that she was positive for a test of a prohibited substance ---
Painkillers, morphine-Face two-
Year no competition
\"I\'m like, morphine?
\"I don\'t even know where you got the morphine from,\" Smyers recalls . \". \"Do you eat it?
Are you injected?
How does it help you?
I was surprised.
She also committed a crime. -
Then she understood. -
Nothing more than eating poppy seed bread on the day of the competition.
It turns out that the poppy seeds contain traces of this drug.
At that time, Smyers was unable to explain the positive test.
\"The way people treat you is fun,\" says Smyers . \". \"[The official]
I thought I was guilty.
Every athlete, guilty or innocent, will immediately come up with an excuse.
Smyers was frightened and asked several toxicologists for an explanation.
Once she identified the bread she had eaten at the hotel buffet breakfast, she sorted out her case, which included letters from the hotel pastry chef and witnesses who saw her eat the bread.
Before her test results were made public, she was cleared in about four weeks.
\"It was quick in the grand scheme, but boy, the four weeks were not fast,\" Smyers said . \".
Many athletes who participate in the Olympic movement abide by the IOC\'s ban.
The drug list has a similar story. Drug-
Free athletes question a system that seems more likely to eradicate childish for them ---
But still so honest-
Athletes mistakenly consume prohibited substances rather than catch drug addicts who are good at beating up the art of testing.
International Olympic Committee drug scientist
Test labs have the same frustration: they know that their tests will not expose athletes who have experience in avoiding drug screening.
But because that well
Known defects in drugs
Test the system, even the obvious positive results. -
They clearly believe some athletes are guilty. -
By means of long and expensive legal procedures, the shortcomings of the system are seized, condemned, and sometimes discarded.
Athletes who are tested positive for steroid testosterone can fight the results in court because the test method, which measures the level of testosterone in the body, is used, but cannot be sure whether it is naturally produced or artificially produced
Drug experts say tests for other steroids that are not naturally produced in the body, such as daniabu and nandroon, are also not completely reliable.
Athletes can time their injections so that the drug leaves the body at the beginning of the drug test, or they can take other drugs that mask the presence of steroids.
In addition, Olympic medicine
The test system is unable to capture athletes who use red blood cells (EPO)
Or human growth hormone (hGH)
Both performances are very powerful and obviously very popular. Enhance the drug.
However, it is unlikely that an athlete will escape the punishment of taking cold medicines containing prohibited doping, pseudo-Mahuang, because the IOC test for this is almost wrong --proof.
\"In a way, they are catching thieves, and those who commit major crimes are not found,\" said Smyers, who is now a member of the United States. S.
Anti-Olympic Committee
Doping Commission
\"I have to admit that the current system is not working.
I do think that changes are being made as athletes put pressure on the governing body.
Hopefully it will work.
\"Athletes like Smyers are worried that they will eat something or do medical treatment with drugs that will trigger a false positive test.
Other athletes know that the performance of the game can easily fall asleep.
The enhanced drugs they take are not detectable.
Or, they might design a complex plan to pass the drug test.
\"Only stupid, careless and stupid people will be caught,\" says Chuck Yeshan, a professor and drug expert at Penn State University, who has been a sharp critic of drug testing in the Olympic movement.
The French cycling team masseuse TricksWilly Voet, arrested by customs officials on 1998, sparked a drug scandal at the Tour de France, describing the cyclists who used to beat the urine test.
Voet, in his recently published book on the scandal, said cyclists hid clean urine in their anassé bags and covered it with pubic hair.
According to drug experts, one strategy for female athletes is to hide a bag of clean urine in the vagina and contract the vaginal muscles to release urine after being asked
Competitive testing.
Other scams include injecting clean urine directly into the bladder. -
A painful process
This extreme measure is adopted because athletes need to be naked in the middle section when they provide urine samples.
They were also tracked into the bathroom by Olympic drugs.
Test officer
Drug testers acknowledge that athletes can also use testosterone at levels that never trigger positive results but provide enhanced performance.
Some drug experts say even amateur chemists can change the chemical composition of known steroids a little, so they cannot be detected ---
At least for a while. -Drug testers
\"They know how to get around if they use drugs,\" the test said. S.
1996 Olympic gold medalist Charles Austin.
\"There is always an escape clause.
\"Of course, drug testing is at least effective to some extent.
At this year\'s Pan American Games alone, there were seven athletes. -
Including five gold medalists. -
A certain prohibited substance was tested positive.
About 30 Chinese swimmers were tested positive and were suspended by the International Swimming Management Agency (FINA)since 1990. Out-of-
Competition tests that athletes undergo irregular tests have been prevalent in international and national governing bodies in recent years and have effectively tested drug violations.
Surprise test brings positive results and suspension to Irish swimmer Michelle SmithS.
Dennis Mitchell, sprinter and the United StatesS.
Randy Barnes.
Nevertheless, positive drug testing does not automatically result in penalties for athletes who are entitled to hearing.
But even Craig Masback, the US track and field CEO and lawyer, was critical of the hearing.
When an athlete is tested positive for a prohibited drug, the athlete\'s state governing body--
May support athletes through allowances and other rewards-
The case was filed.
However, if the athletes win the hearing, the state governing body will move from the prosecution to the international governing body to defend the athletes.
In some recent cases, athletes have won their initial hearing, thus winning the support of their national federation.
S. track and field-backed stars, Mary sliey, and Mitchell, all tested positive for testosterone.
International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF)
They were later overturned and competition was banned.
In the Slaney case, the trial process lasted for three years.
British track and field star Linford Christie was also positive for the South delorun test, which was released this month by the British track and field discipline team, the British national governing body.
The London Evening News reported that British track and field athletes did not convene any experts to investigate Christie\'s defense of drug charges --day hearing.
The panel determined that although the Nandrolone metabolites were found in Christie\'s urine samples, it was not clear that they came from prohibited substances.
Larry Bowles, director of the International Olympic Committee, said: \"I can\'t think of anyone who will make such a decision . \"
Indianapolis lab on Christie\'s case.
\"We need to find a way to actually deal with these cases so that they don\'t rely on opinion or strange science. . . .
When I saw something like the British track and field, they were the prosecutor of the case, and when they lost, their statement was that they were really happy that the athletes were acquitted?
I doubt it.
\"Except for the metabolites produced by certain so-
Known as food supplements that can be overpurchasedthe-
Scientists say that in the United States, there is naturally a small amount of Nandrolone in normal humans, and it can appear in the body for various reasons.
This means that athletes who deliberately take nandroon are ready for a series
Make excuses for how it gets into his system.
Donald Karin, president of the International Olympic Committee, said: \"The excuse for \'natural\' will now be great . \"
University of California, Los Angeles-accredited drug laboratory
\"I\'m afraid it\'s going to be a big legal mess.
\"The most skeptical critics like yesoft say drug testing is nothing more than a marketing campaign, cheating sponsors and the public that the Olympic governing body is fighting drugs.
Smyers believes that sports officials are sincere about catching scammers, but there is only a lack of scientific or legal means.
Sports officials have responded in recent years to increase the frequency of testing.
FINA is considered one of the most serious anti-corruption countries
In its recent newsletter, the drug fight has increasedof-
Competition tests ranged from 7 in 1993 to 802 in 1998.
USOC spent about $12 million on its drug control budget of $0. 5 billion every four years.
More than half of them (about $8 million) were used for testing and about $ 15% (less than $2 million) for research.
The list of prohibited substances of the IOC is very long and comprehensive ---
It includes more than 100 kinds of doping, narcotics, synthetic metabolism, diuretics and hormones. Many over-the-
Counter Items contain prohibited doping that may trigger positive drug testing.
To avoid violating strict drug rules, sports officials are careful to warn athletes not to use the products.
The USOC anti-drug education guide states: \"Ignorance is by no means an excuse. . . .
Even for medical treatment, detection of the presence of prohibited substances constitutes a stimulant.
\"Drug testers say there are a lot of times when they give the athletes the benefit of doubt and ignore samples that only contain an overdosethe-
Counter products.
Nevertheless, standards do not necessarily apply uniformly.
One lab believes that the amount of an \"unexpected\" dose may be considered a positive test by another.
In May 1996, when Italian high jumper Antonella Bevilacqua tested positive for doping in the drug, she accused her of taking it all the time.
However, the IAAF still imposed three
No monthly match
1990, three track and field athletes-
Sprinter Antonio Mackay, Larry Merrick and long jumper Trevor Marsh-
The doping test found in ordinary cold medicine products was positive.
All claimed that it was accidental to take banned drugs, but they were suspended by IAAF for three months.
In the case of Slaney, the lawyer believed that shethe-
The restricted ratio of testosterone to progesterone is caused by her age, the use of contraceptives and alcohol consumption. Three-
Last year\'s banned Boston Marathon champion, Uta Pippig, also made a similar argument for her high score.
1996 Olympic bronze medalist Mitchell tried to refute two of his
One night of drinking beer and having sex with his wife led to elevated testosterone levels, leading to a one-year drug suspension, he said.
Pay close attention to the situation of athletes going outof-
Competition tests run by the US Olympic Committee and other Olympic sports governing bodies require elite athletes to submit their drop schedules several months in advance.
If the drug examiner knocks on the door, the mobilization is not there (
Or within the next 24 hours.
Some organizations will send \"strikes\" to athletes\"-
Measures to prevent them from evading testing.
For FINA, three strikes in a year are considered equal to positive drug tests. (
On the other hand, USOC has no penalty for missed matchesof-
According to Wade Exxon, director of doping control at USOC, the competition test. )U. S.
Swimmer Ron karnagh, a doctor, said he missed an unannounced drug test a year ago when his mother fell down and broke his hip because he wentJ.
To take care of her.
When he was away, the drug examiner showed up at his home in Philadelphia.
Canoga said he submitted a urine sample within the specified 24 hours
For an hour, but still received a letter from FINA stating that he was on strike for missing the exam.
\"When you are a clean athlete, there are a lot of factors that can make you go wrong,\" said Canoga . \".
Some athletes suggest simply abolishing the drug test, thus eliminating the illusion that what they say is that the scammers are excluded from the game and that innocent athletes are protected from false positive results.
However, most drug experts and doctors believe that even flawed testing is better than not.
\"If you don\'t test, then these people will imitate the bodybuilders at the home gym,\" said California sports medical doctor Robert Kerr . \" He admitted taking steroids for people in the world --
Class athletes in the 1980 s
\"At least the test allows athletes to show themselves to a certain extent.
\"In fact, testing is still a threat for some cheaters.
This summer, a Belarusian triple jumper who won a gold medal in the junior track and field race came running from the stadium after learning that she was randomly selected for a drug test.
Natalya Kostitchenko was caught by stadium staff on a nearby canal and brought back to the doping control area.
Her coach allegedly paid bribes to drug examiners who refused the offer.
Kostitchenko then ran out of the stadium ---
Got two.
Refused to accept the annual ban on testing.
Perhaps the most significant aspect of drug testing today is the amount of substances that still cannot be detected.
Voet said: \"We walked on the moon 30 years ago, and today we can\'t find these products in the blood?
The Washington Post reporter Anne swadson contributed to the report in Paris.
Travel through drugs-
The test Laban athlete won a medal in the competition and was a drug. tested.
Or let the athletes make a sample at home.
Anyway, a drug.
Test officer present and proof urine sample--
Divided into two bottles--
From athletes.
The athlete looks at the official seal of the two bottles, which are coded in numbers instead of names.
Bag the sample, pack it with other coded samples and send it to the lab. 1.
The University of California, Los Angeles laboratory received six pairs of samples. 2.
The chemist in the laboratory begins the chain of supervision, in which each person who processes the sample has to go in and out of his or her property.
This ensures that someone is responsible to them at all times and that person can be tracked later if the testing process is challenged.
When the detained person comes home, he or she puts the sample in the locked refrigerator. 3.
The chemist takes a box of new samples to a locked room, opens the box, checks the packaging status of each sample, and records any irregularities in the paperwork.
She made sure that there was A sample of A and B for each number, as that number was the only way for the lab to identify the sample.
No name was attached, so no one in the lab knew which athlete the sample came from.
The chemist puts unopened B samples into the box to be stored.
She used an instrument called pippette to put the urine of each sample into seven different tubes.
She then took a tube out of each sample and tested urine in two ways: the Flamer made sure the urine was not diluted to a useful level, and the pH test paper made sure the urine was not too old. 4.
The remaining tubes then go into the chemical process, in which another chemist \"cleans\" the urine, extracting all molecules other than the molecules needed for each of the five Tests.
After this process, it takes about four hours for the six samples, and the tube seems to be empty, but not empty.
Each machine puts in a dryer or dryer for half an hour so that all moisture disappears before the next stage. 5.
Next, another chemist added a few drops of volatile liquid TRIA silicon to prepare samples for the test.
It will take half an hour. 6.
The fourth chemist injected the liquid into the gas chromatography, which turned the liquid into steam.
Depending on the weight and composition of the molecules, they go through a tiny spiral pipe in the machine at different speeds.
Now the test begins. 7.
Steam is injected from gas chromatography into a mass spectrometer, a machine that identifies and measures what is in the urine.
The electron beam shattered the molecules and the mass spectrometer identified the fragments.
Each sample takes about 20 minutes by mass spectrometry. 8.
All that remains is to read the data and it takes about 15 minutes for each sample of certified scientists.
Complete the process if the sample test is negative and discard the B sample.
If any part of the test is positive, a new test will be arranged on the sample, and the process begins. 9.
After the second round of testing, another scientist looked at the data.
If the sample is positive again, fax or mail the report to the appropriate sports authority.
Then put the B sample into the locked refrigerator and invite the athlete or his representative to the opening and testing of the Laboratory B sample.
Source: Don Karin, US Olympic Committee?
While caffeine is one of the drugs prescribed by the International Olympic Committee, drinking a cup of coffee in the morning won\'t hurt athletes medals.
Caffeine and several other drugs are banned only at very high concentrations-
It is almost impossible to reach the amount unexpectedly.
The caffeine limit is 12 micrograms per milliliters of urine, far exceeding the traditional dose of household products.
To do this, athletes must drink more than eight cups of coffee two to three hours before the test.
Number of Products required 2-
Caffeine limit 25-column scan exceeding cola17 Excedrin tablets12 No-3 hours before the test