Barnwell tells Sacramento Bee in doping story: I did not ‘get caught’
The New York Times and Washington Post have done it. Now itās the Sacramento Beeās turn. The subject is doping in masters track, and the Beeās Sam McManis covers it well. See the story here. Sam quotes WMA Prez Stan Perkins, and even touches base with Val Barnwell, banned for two years after testing positive at Lahti in 2009. Val hasnāt changed his tune. āBarnwell, reached at his home in Brooklyn, N.Y., criticized not only the methods of testing but the very act of āinvading the privacy of masters athletes around the worldā with an āinvasive and demeaningā procedure,ā Sam writes. ā āThey say Iām bitter for being suspended, but wait until it happens to them,ā Barnwell said. āAnd I did not āget caught.ā It just so happened my testosterone was high. I take a lot (of supplements) because Iām older. Older people need stuff. We have the most (medical) complaints in the world. Weāre lucky to get off our beds and compete.ā ā The Bee requested my iconic Val-being-busted photo, which accompanied the article:
Val gets instructions from doping control official at Lahti worlds in 2009.
18 Responses
I find this story impossibly sad.
“Older people need stuff” – I like that š
The article was well-written and Mary Harada had some great quotes. š
I suffer from chronic anemia and dehydration. In 2008 I was so dizzy I could only walk a few steps without becoming short of breath. In the hospital I was told that my testosterone was 138. The average for my age is 552. On April 27 I applied for a TUE at my physician’s insistence because my testosterone is now <20. I was denied. I have only completed one meet in the last four years having to withdraw from injury or the knowledge that the next vault will put me out for 6-8 weeks. To offset this I train six days a week and have heard more than a few people suggest that I must be using drugs. I'M <20!! I work my butt off and I'm always hurt. It's the price I pay to stay in the game. I'm not looking for an advantage and I'm certainly not being afforded one.
I think my point was that just because someone may look well muscled, doesn’t mean they are on drugs. As my physician tells me, “you look like an athlete whose body eats its own muscle to grow because you make no testosteroneā. To me itās the cost of being in the game. Iāll never be a Gary Hunter, Paul Babbits, John Altendorf, etc., but at least I get to hang out with them. All the best in your endeavors. Bubba
Nicely said, Bubba. I did not know of the severity of your problem and appreciate your candid explanation. Hope you can get a few good vaults in at Worlds. As you know so well, I will be in Virginia, may possibly go to Pennsylvania, will definitely not be going to California to see the big meet.
PT
Thank you! See you in Cleveland sir? Hope so!
Well, Bubba, this has nothing to do with drugs, the focus of this posting, but I will probably go to Berea, Ohio, for the meet. As you may know, I took a sizable economic hit in March by going to Albuquerque (long airplane trip from Virginia, 4 nights of hotel, etc. cost several times the pitiful sum I was given).
Berea is about a 7 hr, 15-minute drive from where I live in Virginia (with 3 rest stops), and thus my airplane expenses would be nonexistent. I think I can swing it without taking quite the economic hit I took in March.
Back to drugs, I am one of the doubters. Older people take a lot of drugs; what can I say? I take 2 or 3 and thus I am on the low end, but imagine if I went to my physician and said I wanted a TUE (therapeutic use exemption). “What? You’re an old guy. Get out of here.”
Bubba,
If you took medically prescribed hormones to get back into normal range, why would you have to apply for a TUE? All you are doing is getting back to ‘normal’. Now if you had to take a medication for an unrelated condition and that medication raised your testosterone to above the normal range, I could see the need to apply for a TUE.
And if you did take the medically prescribed hormone, you still wouldn’t even fail the drug test, because it’s not elevating you beyond the normal range.
I think this is a serious issue, as more and more serious medical conditions are being linked to low test in males.
Matthew, prescribed hormones likely are synthetic and not exactly the same as the natural ones, so a test could (should) find them.
Thank you for your input Matthew. Logic would dictate that you are correct. My physician contacted WADA and was told what Weia said, that I woud test positive for a “foreign substance”. Meanwhile I’ve had two Achilles surgeries, three hernias, three knee surgeries, torn two bicep heads completely off, and countless other injuries while training “smart” and being careful. My doc says this would end if I could only get in the 300-350 range. Remember normal for my age is 550.
For full disclosure; here is the actual lab reprt. Scroll down and look for the red – http://www.bubbapv.com/Sparks-4-27-11.pdf
Interestingly, there is a medication that prompts your body to begin trying to make it’s own testosterone again, but it too is on the banned list.
I’m not trying to hijack the thread but merely show there is another side that gets ignored under the same testing system used for the elites. Have a safe and fun holiday! Bubba
To Bubba Sparks;
No hijacking at all here , it is a pleasure to see this forum used for what it is intended which is the shareing of pertinent information between master athelets.
I have the same problem as Bubba so I fully understand him. Being a skinny ectomorph, with not enough testosterone and hence – not enough muscle mass, I have great problems with Achilles tendonitis and other pains, so I can’t train hard, and do my best to train “smart”.
The only supplements I take are proteins with 20 % carbohydrates and a trace of creatine (I know that “gainers” should contain more carbohydrates, but the taste gets TOO sweet, even nasty). Protein bars are nice but quite expensive. If I don’t take proteins (or a least a pizza) after the workout, my body “eats its own muscle”, as Bubba says. And my muscles can’t even preserve their present volume (growing is unthinkable).
Nonetheless, after 3 years of regular training (2 or max. 3 times a week), two weeks ago I (long-) jumped 6,09m (20 feet), at the age of 47 (last year I was last in the World Ranking List with 5,80m – see mastersathletics.net, if you are curious). With this result I can probably enter the first eight in Sacramento, but it’s quite expensive for a poor guy to go there.
So, it’s difficult but not impossible.
To take doping is not fair, not healthy, and expensive. There is NO excuse for doing this.
When I look at my reflection in the mirror in the morning, I want to be proud of myself, and not ashamed. OK, I will not become a World Champion, but is this a disaster? Less training is better for the health (exhaustion and over-strain can never lead to something good). And there is nothing better on Earth than doing what you love. Masters Athletics is mostly about overcoming one’s own limits, and not about winning medals and titles at any cost, which just “pump” the EGO. And, as the writer Tom Robbins said, “Hell is a large, stiff EGO”.
the anti ageing clinics have bio identical testosterone and if just elevated to a normal level I don’t think would be detected.
almost 45 yrs old, take absolutely nothing
am lucky and dedicated at the same time
Val was in the 50-54 group in Lahti.
“Older people need stuff.”
Like wisdom, candor, and self-respect.
Bubba says it all…….I don’t know who is on the anti-doping committee for Masters, but they should at least study the needs of aging athletes….not like we are in our teens and twenties etc//////
as stated before…common sense needs to be applied.
What’s up everyone ! Haven’t been here for a spell.
Val absolutely does not think. It’s ashame….Never ever have I, or would I do illicit drugs.
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