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Distance_Guru World Class
Joined: 09 Mar 2002 Posts: 1280 Location: Nebraska
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Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2002 4:42 pm Post subject: |
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I tip my cap to Paula. Testing her is one thing but volunteering to have her blood and urine samples frozen so that they can be tested when the tests get better is a great statement. I would love to see more athletes do the same. _________________ Time is the fire in which we burn |
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Dan Chief Pontificator
Joined: 22 Mar 1999 Posts: 9334 Location: Salem, OR
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Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2002 5:15 pm Post subject: |
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Indeed. I doubt we'll see many such offers, though. On the other hand, if enough people come forward and make the offer, it will look like an admission of guilt by those who don't. Could create some peer pressure...
There are some valid reasons not to want to be part of that, though. Who's to say something that is legal now won't be illegal in the future when a test is run or something in the blood won't react funny to being frozen and show up as questionable? John Smith is villified in some circles for having taken steroids as an athlete, but they were legal at the time. Would people want their reputations potentially sullied like that after they retire?
Heck, do we even know that certain drugs won't break down at freezing temperatures and remain detectable? Or are we just so accustomed to seeing cryogenics in the movies that we assume that's already been thought through?
From the opposite perspective, those of us who are less than convinced the IAAF truly wants to clean up the sport (testing seems to line their pockets better than that of the athletes) wonder if future tests would be done or results released.
Dan |
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Distance_Guru World Class
Joined: 09 Mar 2002 Posts: 1280 Location: Nebraska
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Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2002 11:14 am Post subject: |
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You raise some valid points. But I personally am of the opinion that what she is doing is great. If she's clean she has nothing to worry about. And as for there possibly being a funny reaction do to freezing I would chalk that up to being about as risky as possible outside contamination, or mislabeling in a regualr drug test. And heck if she's the only one getting her blood frozen then there probably won't be any confusion as to who's blood it is that's sitting in the freezer. As for the villification of John Smith I would say that if they weren't against the rules then, at least from a purely athletic stand point, it would be foolish for him to have not taken them. And some how I get the feeling that Paula wouldn't be volunteering if she was taking something that she thought might be banned in the very near future. _________________ Time is the fire in which we burn |
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Conway Olympic Medalist
Joined: 25 Aug 2001 Posts: 3570 Location: Northen California
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Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2002 11:24 am Post subject: |
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I too like what Paula has done ... But I have to think she did it out of pressure and not necessarily out of any innate feeling that it was the "right" thing to do ...
Paula has had more pressure on oher than any other athlete in recent memory - regarding the issue of drugs ... And why not ... She is approaching the level of athletes that the entire world has decided were on "something" !!! So the rationalization goes since they HAD to be on something, anyone else approaching those levels HAS to be on something too !!!
THAT is what the search for drugs has wrot !!!
She couldn't simply say TEST ME, she's already been tested ... She had to come up wiht somethign better than simply being tested !!! And to her credit she did ... Sad that that is what it had to come to ... That simply testing clean is no longer good enough ... but unfortunately everyone knows the users are ahead of the testers so what do you do ?>??
Conway
PS - for the record I think she is clean ... She seems to work a lot harder than many others ... |
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