American masters track racer admits doping at nationals
Kenny Williams
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Relax. It’s not one of us. It’s the other masters track — two-wheeled racing. An M40 cyclist named Kenny Williams, reports this site, “tested positive for the banned substance DHEA in a test taken at United States masters nationals in Colorado Springs. In a letter first published at cycle-smart.com, Williams called the decision to take the drug a mistake and said that he had only taken it once. Right, because we’ve never heard that story before. But hey, maybe this time it’s true. And maybe the earth is flat. First time or no, doping for masters racing is stupid. ’nuff said.” Another good article is posted here. It says: “The 42-year-old resident of Washington state admitted to taking the steroid Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) prior to the Championships, where he claimed the 3000 metre individual pursuit and kilometre time trial titles. Williams’ victory in the 40-44 3000 metre individual pursuit had been achieved in an unofficial cialis world record time of 3:26.097.”
Here’s the note Kenny (no relation) posted November 3:
To my friends, clients, competitors and USA Cycling officials, My name is Kenny Williams and I’ve been racing my bike for 20 years. In June 2009 I broke and had surgery on my left collarbone. In my haste to return to the top of my game I purchased DHEA at the local Drug Store, without consulting anyone. 6 weeks later at Masters Track Nationals in Colorado Springs I was tested positive for this illegal xanax drug. I do not deny the results of the test.
I am ashamed that I’ve done something that hurts the sport of cycling and the community of people who have become the most important klonopin part of my life. I’m facing the very real possibility that I can try for the rest of my life to regain the confidence of the cycling community and my friends, but this cloud will be with me for the rest of my life. I am not asking for forgiveness, because I am admitting to my mistake and own all the horrible feelings that come with my bad decision.
I am hoping for compassion and understanding. Compassion that I never intended to hurt anyone and understanding that if I could have one re-do in my life that this would be it. As I have done throughout my whole athletic life I will fight to re-gain my reputation as a fair man, tough competitor and drug-free cyclist. You can trust me when I say that I will never take a short-cut like this ever again.
Bike racing is one of the most important things in my life, second to my wife, whom I owe the biggest apology to for being so irresponsible. I am sorry Annette. I also feel horrible about the results I took away from the other athletes that I raced against. I am very sorry to have disappointed all of them. To my sponsors ambien and my clients, I am sorry. To all in the cycling community and my friends, I am sorry.
Give Kenny this: That’s one heck of an apology!
American masters records ‘lasted updated’ on Dec. 10
The “lasted updated” date stamp on our outdoor and indoor USATF records pages isn’t the fault of our masters czar, Sandy Pashkin, it turns out. All the USATF records files — Open, Racewalk, LDR — carry that silly typo (Dec. 14 update: The USATF webmaster fixed the problem today.) But Sandy still has to account for the records themselves. And many legit marks — with documentation and age proof — are still missing from the mix. Even though 53 indoor and almost 80 masters outdoor age-group records are new for 2006, my old gripes still hold. (Where is W35 Gail Devers? She still holds American OPEN records post age-35!)
21 Responses
Maybe someone who has used DHEA (or knows about it) can post answers to my questions anonymously, but I have read that there are several high quality studies which found no statistically significant increases strength or endurance from the use of DHEA.
If that’s the case, is it merely producing a placebo effect?
If the studies are valid, why would it be a banned substance?
Something isn’t adding up.
Looks like you’re right – according to Wikipedia at least (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehydroepiandrosterone)! There doesn’t seem to be much performance enhancing benefit to the substance. Not sure why it’s banned.
On the other hand: 0.01″ can be the difference between gold and silver.
Check this out:
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/2007/06/03/2007-06-03_muscle_drug_finds_a_legal_loophole.html
“It is being abused and it does have anabolic (muscle-building) effects,” says Gary Wadler, a World Anti-Doping Agency committee member and associate professor of medicine at NYU. “We don’t ban one anabolic steroid because it’s more potent than another anabolic steroid, therefore (DHEA) should be treated the same.”
The key seems to be in restoring DHEA levels to the levels in your youth. The youthful levels are as follows: • Men 400-560 mcg per deciliter of blood • Women 350-430 mcg per deciliter of blood. People over 40 who do not supplement DHEA usually have serum levels below 200, and many are below 100. Now, would this dramatic change in your blood level give you an unfair advantage? Of course it would. “Once again don’t take DHEA if you have diabetes, psychiatric conditions, or liver problems, or are at risk for cancer.” Well, that is only the disclaimer of the hormone industry. Would somebody please tell me who is not at risk for cancer? But then again, you would already be a sick puppy if you take that &*^% in the first place.
If drug testing became routine at the Masters Nationals, I wonder how many would skip the meet to avoid detection?
Most athletes who want to avoid detection use Human Growth Hormone. There are no current blood or urine tests for it that are conclusive. That doesn’t mean that you can’t tell when someone is on it though. The side effects are very specific…especially if you are in your 50’s and 60’s with a body type of a CUT athlete thirty years younger. Large defined muscles that don’t look like the norm for a fit athlete of the same age. It’s called the fountain of youth in some circles. It isn’t illegal except if you are a competitive athlete. Doctors give it out all the time. Oh…and a couple other side effects that are irreversible are: bone growth, especially forehead, hands (knuckles) and often fluid retention in odd places like in your elbow.
A lot of people are also using it for rapid weight loss. I know one guy that tried to lose weight for years in the gym and then went on HgH and looked like a new fit person in like 8 months.
And from the Daily News article, I find this a prefectly reasonable argument:
“The MLB Players Association has consistently argued that athletes should not be treated differently than other citizens just because they happen to make a living playing sports.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/2007/06/03/2007-06-03_muscle_drug_finds_a_legal_loophole.html?page=1#ixzz0WkcBOvVb
Regardless of whether DHEA confers a positive effect or not, what is the argument for making it a banned substance in any sport, as long as it’s legal? If it’s not banned, then all athletes have the option of taking it (i.e. no cheating). It’s merely a choice as to what risks you’re willing to take with your own body/life.
Kinda like choosing to pole vault onto a roof. 🙂
Though I think that appearance certainly can be a tip off it’s not fair to label someone a user based on looks alone. I’m a pole vaulter and I can tell you that Gary Hunter, Paul Babbits and many others are in phenomenal shape because that’s what’s required to do our event at their level. It would never cross my mind that they are users.
I naturally have a big upper body but legs that wouldn’t make a sandpiper jealous – VERY skinny. I had a friend ask how I got so big on my upper body because he needed to get stronger. My response was by training six days a week since I returned to action in January of 2005. And by the way, I may look bigger but I’m 10 lbs. lighter.
My wife went with me to Nationals and asked if I thought so and so was on steroids. I was shocked because we’ve never even had a discussion on this. She’s a non-athlete. My response, since I knew them was NO – they simply work their butts off far more than the others in the field. I think guilt by association isn’t merited as I think it must be a small minority. From what I’ve read in following the baseball cases, HGH is WAY out of the budget of most masters. Food for thought. Bubba
I guess that if you are in a gym and have seen and worked with thousands of men, both athletes and not, my perspective is much different about easily being able to tell who is on what. There are many telltale signs, let’s just put it that way.
It is nice to keep your beliefs so I will not try to dissuade you. And you are right about the cost of HgH. It puts it out of reach of MOST people that you may know. But don’t start throwing names out there…I’m sure that everyone out there doesn’t want to have their name mentioned in the same sentence as steroids…or HgH.
And by the way, listen to your wife.
I understand. The names I mentioned are drop dead assured clean. I’ve known them 30 years and we know who is and isn’t – always have. I’ll give you $100 if they ever aren’t. That’s why I used them as examples. Sorry I ducked into this conversation. Have a great day.
leave me your email if you are serious. One of them was my roommate.
Anonymous, You are such a funny guy…. So you were someones roommate hahahahahaahha what a joker. Anonymous, Thanks for promoting my endorphins.
Laughing Out Loud, Sully
ps how can anyone be serious when dealing with an anonymous jokester….
There are medical reasons why a doctor would prescribe DHEA. Some include; adrenal inefficiency, MS, HIV, AIDS, Lupus, and treatment of serious burn patients. These patients require written prescription by their doctor. The medication (DHEA) is compounded by a pharmacy to the exact mg per day required per day for the patient. These patients require blood test 4 times a year to monitor their DHEA -S levels as well as testosterone levels.
The goal is to keep these patients in a normal range. DHEA compounded in a pharmacy assures purity and the exact dosage amount per tablet. A person who does not produce DHEA at all, is told to take the 1 dose tablet in the morning to mimic a normal production pattern. A patient taking the correct amount DHEA for their condition may show no increase in the normal range of testosterone levels for their age. Testosterone is the main hormone from male and female muscle growth.
I believe reclassifying DHEA for prescription use only and removing it from health supplement industry would be best for athletes and non-athletes.
I would like to ask Kenny what were the DHEA S level and testosterone levels found in his blood sample. High DHEA S levels does not necessarily correlate to high testosterone levels out of normal range. If they move remained in the normal range, there was probably no advantage.
Kenny, thanks for being honest.
I am afraid that there are a number of Masters competitors who would fail a drug test. I have had people tell me what they were using and let’s face it, the information seems readily available as to what works and how to avoid detection. The question seems to be what to do – more drug testing or just make everything legal?
You are quite right. There are a lot of masters here with their heads in the sand. Sometimes, I think, “should we really go down that road”, where we accuse someone of juicing. People would lose friends, reputations would get tarnished and a lot of people who never give it any thought would awake from their dreamlike state.
Throughout history, it has always been politically correct NOT to talk about it, even if you know someone is taking it, either by seeing them with the pills or needles or because it is openly discussed, as some juicers do, comparing notes. Throughout sports history, it is not talked about. Why do you think it took almost 30 years for baseball to start testing? Do you actually believe that in 2003 when A-Rod tested positive, it was his first or baseball’s first time they starting using? Athletes have used steroids since the mid 70’s and in the 80’s and 90’s, it became mainstream. The reason the media didn’t start printing articles until the last few years is because even they did not want to discuss it…..until things got ridiculous with the number of athletes destroying their career best…even in their late 30’s and early 40’s.
The fact is, it is readily available. You can go online and order testerosterone and it will be at your house in no time. We, as masters are simply on the honor system. But I will warn anyone who wants to try it, that there are serious side effects, some irreversible. Here is one: your heart may increase in size and once you stop training, the blood flow becomes inefficient and you may just die in your sleep. Do some research. The mortality rate for pro wrestlers, for example, most who are on HgH, is astronomical for those between 40 and 55 yrs old and retired. Way off the charts. I wouldn’t want any part of that, just to win medals.
But it is a subject worthy of serious discussion here. Do we want to go down that road and talk about it? Or do we want to AVOID talking about it, being politically correct? And just keep the status quo, like we have done for the past 30 years or so?
Supposing that 3-5% or so masters are using some type of athletically illegal substance and just one person gets caught. Of course, the media will then presume WE ARE ALL on something or other. That’s the way the media operates when it comes to track and field. The perception is that most people in elite track cheat.
As far as masters go, right now, all is quiet. And it seems very quiet here on our masters blog, as well, as nobody wants to talk about performance enhancing substances.
But you know very well that it is true, when one person is proven dirty, all the rest of us are then looked at differently, so it’s in ALL of our best interest to know the truth about who among us might be using these types of substances.
There is obviously a lot to know about this.
Kenny got a two-year ban:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/williams-handed-two-year-ban-by-usada
I’ve really enjoyed reading your articles. You obviously know what you are talking about! Your site is so easy to navigate too, I’ve bookmarked it in my favourites 😀
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