Chapter Thirty-Five: The drugs subject rears its ugly head again
The dreaded but inevitable subject of drugs in weightlifting came up again in the media. I had always been annoyed by the constant insinuations & accusations from ignorant people, assuming that because I was involved with a strength sport, I must be taking steroids. I felt we were unfairly tarnished by bad press, by actions of other weightlifters overseas. I always insisted to anyone who asked, that in Australia we were clean. But over 2005-2006, things went sour for us here too.
The truth is, in Australia, weightlifting is one of the most heavily tested sports. We are tested at random, with no notice. It used to be just urine and then they introduced blood testing. They could approach us anytime, anywhere and ask us to provide a sample – of urine and/or blood, the process of which could take several hours. If we declined, we would be banned.
Every 3 months we had to provide the Australian drug testing body (renamed now as ASADA, formerly known as ASDA) with our future whereabouts for the next 3 months, so they could find us and surprise us at random, with no notice. If something unexpected came up – an unplanned trip at short notice, a cancelled training session, or an unexpected overnight stay, which wasn’t detailed on our form, then we had to immediately notify the drug testing body – otherwise if they turned up and we weren’t where we said we would be, we risked being banned. All this was in addition to the testing which occurred at competitions. So you’d have to pretty stupid in Australia to try to take something and not expect to get caught! As I mentioned earlier, they even tested me while I was pregnant.
This was quite a different experience to what we heard occurred overseas, depending on which country you were in. Although it was improving, certainly in 2006 there were still some countries where their local weightlifting federation only conducted drug testing at competitions. So as no out-of competition testing was conducted it was possible for those athletes to take performance enhancing drugs for a few months, then allow a short period for the drugs to clear their system before competing. Whilst WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) was stepping up their own testing worldwide and trying to get into all countries to conduct random, out of competition testing, I had heard stories of corruption, bribes, not to mention secret training camps in remote places with no access to outsiders. There was a rumour going around earlier in 2005 that some of the Indian weightlifting and athletics team were caught running away from WADA testers, escaping out of windows to avoid being tested. As a glimmer of hope, Nigeria had been banned from competing at Commonwealth Games in 2002 due to the number of positives they’d had. (It was a shame they didn’t catch India as well.) However we all heard the stories of how other countries got away with it. Straight from the horse’s mouth an athlete from a middle eastern country we were speaking to at the 2002 World Championships, told Deb & I that their coach used to give the sample on their behalf (I had my video recording at the time & have this on tape). I had heard similar stories from a credible source a few years earlier that in Turkey their junior lifters would have fake ID’s and give the samples on behalf of the senior lifters called up.
So what happened in Australia during 2005? Four of Australia’s best athletes tested positive to a banned substance (a stimulant) which was present in their supplements.
How many of you have walked into a health food store and seen all the proteins and supplements on the shelves alleging to boost performance in the gym, make you feel younger, give you more energy? Well most athletes at elite level take these types of supplements, to assist with recovery, improve stamina, etc. They are all legal, however from time to time, a manufacturer adds something to them which is legal, but which is a banned substance for tested athletes. Or the supplements could be being manufactured in a facility that also contained banned substances and traces could be in the assembly lines, tainting the other products. No problem for the average sportsperson who chooses to buy one of those supplements, but for a tested athlete this could mean the end of a sporting career. This is why all tested athletes need to check everything they take, including medications bought in chemists or even prescribed by a doctor.
It turned out that the 4 Australian athletes, who were hoping to be on the 2006 Commonwealth Games team, were all taking the same supplement. They all tested positive to the same banned substance – not a steroid, but a stimulant. Apparently, they found out afterwards, the manufacturer changed one of the ingredients in this particular supplement, switching it for a cheaper equivalent substitute which unbeknown to him, was on the banned list. The 4 athletes say they had taken the same supplement on many previous occasions, where they were tested, and did not return a positive. Despite the evidence they had about the product, at the end of the day, the anti doping legislation is very onerous. It doesn’t matter the excuse, if it’s in your body you are guilty. For some reason, weightlifters are treated more harshly than certain blond haired cricket players caught taking their mother’s diuretics.
I had always been careful with my supplements, only taking reputable brands, which could guarantee and show evidence they had been tested so were endorsed by ASDA. Around 2000-2003 I was lucky to receive some sponsorship from Musashi, who generously agreed to give me complimentary supplements of my choice on a monthly basis. I benefited greatly from this. Then during 2005 I met the guys from Top Nutrition, through Steve, and one of his Highland Games friends. I switched over to Top Nutrition when they kindly agreed to supply me with protein powders and supplements from their range. Like Mushashi, Top Nutrition guaranteed their products had been tested for purity and were compliant for drug tested sports. I only ever consumed their products and wouldn’t risk taking anything else in case they were inadvertently tainted. Unfortunately some of my weightlifting friends from Victoria and Tasmania hadn’t followed the same strict protocols and they suffered consequences.
All this happened after the Australian Championships in October, discovered on the eve of the Commonwealth Games selections. Consequently four weightlifters who should or could have been on the 2006 Commonwealth Games team were banned (after an investigation) for 2 years.
Although I wasn’t caught up in it, I inadvertently was put in the spotlight on this subject. It had been arranged that I would appear on Channel Nine’s Today Show in December a few days after the Commonwealth Games (half team) was selected. However this coincided with the media getting wind of the ‘drug scandal’ story, so on live TV Richard Wilkinson drilled me about ‘the scandal shocking Australian weightlifting’. Supposedly I was there to talk about being selected, but mainly I was quizzed by Richard about the positives, wanting an inside story. I had to repeatedly say I knew no details and couldn’t talk about it. I chose my words carefully, trying not to outrightly lie. Watch the interview here.
Richard could tell I knew more but what else could I say. Of course people were talking about it. I knew more, not necessarily all the exact details, but I knew who was involved and what the allegations were. Through being an AWF Board member at the time, I had been sworn to secrecy by the Board, as it was all confidential, with legals pending for those who were appealing. There was no way I could or would talk about it on live TV.
Coming up next – Chapter 36: Onwards and upwards… and off to a Training Camp at the AIS in Canberra