Craig Shumaker’s drug statement: It’s been fun, but now I’m done
Craig Shumaker, who accepted a drug suspension after testing positive for banned substances at Berea nationals, says this is it. He’s done with masters track. His statement is below. It concludes: “As for me, I am sure my throwing days are done and hope that this country can someday have an intelligent discourse about masters athletics and legally prescribed medication usage. I will miss seeing all of my friends around the circuit and wish all of you good health.” So congrats, USATF. You’ve forced an athlete out of the sport. An M60 gold medalist in the shot and silver medalist in the discus is quitting for good. (Results have already been revised.) And why? Because USATF was bullied into matching the Eurovets as drug-paranoids.
Craig Shumaker today sent me this PDF statement, which I edited and converted into searchable text.
He said in his email: “This is all I will have to say on the matter and hope that someday masters associations will have an honest and open discourse regarding legally prescribed medications and how they may/may not improve performance at the masters level.”
Here is Craig’s statement:
I was recently informed that I had tested positive for banned substances at the 2011 National Masters Championships. I do admit to taking legally prescribed medication for high blood pressure and hormone replacement therapy, all under the care of my family physician. I will also state that as a 63-year-old I should not have to ask someone’s permission to do what is best for my health and well being, at the risk of not being able to compete.
I did not take any medications to gain a competitive advantage and for those who know me, my body type has not changed in over 15 years, my throws have shown no dramatic improvement over time or any one point in time, I have arthritis in both hands and hips and have recently undergone a total hip replacement.
While the inevitable character inuendoes will occur, I ask you to consider the following: Why should masters level individuals have to scurry around checking a massive list of banned substances and change medications that might not work as well just so we can comply with procedures designed for Open/Olympic competitors where individuals chase thousands of thousands of dollars and individual fame?
I did not pursue a TUE because it would never have been approved; yet there is no research done on masters level athletes that would indicate hormone replacement therapy (Androgel) is in fact a PED. It is easier for organizations to hide behind generalities than to have an open and honest debate about legal medications and how they may/may not improve performance with regard to master level athletes.
What is the purpose of masters athletics? To set world records and improve one’s reputation as “the man”? I believe it should be about encouraging participation and wellness, trying your best given where you are in life at any given moment. At our ages, we all have medical issues that medical science can help alleviate, so why not have a reasonable, well-intentioned PED policy?
For those who have made it their mission to “clean up” the sport in the name of a level playing field you are chasing an illusion. Not because of drugs but because it is unattainable. We all compete against others who are bigger, stronger, faster, have better training facilities, a coach, someone to pay their travel expenses or whatever they are fortunate enough to have access to,
so you will never level the playing field.As for me, I am sure my throwing days are done and hope that this country can someday have an
intelligent discourse about masters athletics and legally prescribed medication usage. I will miss seeing all of my friends around the circuit and wish all of you good health.
55 Responses
I applaud your strong opinion on this topic, Ken. You have been consistent, to say the least. If you want me to endure the posturing, high-stepping, chest thumping, unbearable display of “supremacy” of known performance enhancing athletes (and dear God, did we have one in the past!), forget it, count me out. I will never tolerate a dirty environment in any sport, certainly not in the sport I love. If you want the pendulum to fully swing the other way -anything goes- you’re wrong. There has to be a reasonable, considerate middle ground, a system that is fair to athlete’s medical conditions but also fair to all competitors. I want athletes like Bubba and Craig to get a fair and compassionate hearing. Obvious cheaters should get banned. With your approach, dear Ken, you throw more than one good athlete out of the sport.
I agree with Stefan that there should be some middle ground. I believe that the beauty in track and field is that by hard work and sheer determination we can compete with people who may have been born with more athletic gifts. However, PED’s have almost destroyed our sport. Craig is correct in saying that some people will have more resources than others, but that has never stopped people from doing amazing things in spite of having limited resources. I am a Masters track and field athlete because training and competing makes me feel alive. Winning is nice when it happens, but that is illusory since there is always another race and there is no guarantee that another win will be forthcoming. People concerned only about winning probably see nothing wrong with PED’s.
Competing at the National and International level in Masters athletics has been inspiring to me and my family. We need reasonable rules to preserve our sport so that we can continue to inspire each other and enjoy each others accomplishments.
Ken, I am just puzzled at what looks like a gratuitous swipe at the “Eurovets” in your own comments. What was that based on? If nothing, ought you really not remove it? Craig makes no mention.
A lot of us assume that if a person tests positive for a substance, he is a guilty, cheat and we forever treat him as such. Before we condemn a fellow Masters athlete, we should determine if he took a substance to gain an advantage and if the amount of the substance is indeed enough to gain an advantage or does he need it to live a normal life.
The test in Masters sport should be an indication of what you took and not the determining factor of if you can or cannot compete. A committee should decide that.
And if a person failed to get a TUE and has a legit reason to take a medicine for health reasons, he should be allowed to apply for a TUE after the test, if he tested positive, and allowed to compete because he is NOT a cheat.
I hate a cheat as much as the next guy but we are old and a lot of us take drugs just to try to live normal lives and should not be penalized for it.
I agree Nolan that TUE should be liberally given to Masters with legitimate medical need. This seems like a good middle ground approach.
I would like to hear from the silver and bronze medalist who got “bumped up”. Did they accept the new medals?
The poll is unanswerable. The “matching the Eurovets as drug-paranoids” is an invitation for some anti-americanism???
This matter is completely clear;no drugs allowed whatsoever.More testing is welcome,especially in the US.Especially potential and WR-holders should be tested all year long.In “our own liitle world” we compete firstly with ourselves but also want to compare our results with clean achievements of others.To justify taking eg. testosterone to correct low lewels is the same as to say that eg.I have to use a 1,5kg discus instead of 2kg because I´m so weak.It makes no sense!
I prefer Nolan and Terry’s responses to anonymous Thrower who would just throw everyone who needs prescribed medications regardless of need under the bus with charity towards none.
There should be some consideration given towards masters competitors who are not as blessed as” Thrower” and have legitimate health needs for medication. However as long as USADA is in charge of USATF masters drug testing such consideration is not likely to occur. The drive towards gaming the system by elites continues as $$$ and fame are involved. Masters competitors pay the price for this by the zero tolerance of USADA towards masters regardless of medical need or conditions.
I am cutting and pasting a note put on FB yesterday by a UK masters athlete re concern about cheating among elites in Scotland preparing for the upcoming Olympic Games.
Athletes abusing doctor’s note system to benefit from banned drugs – Herald Scotland |.
http://www.heraldscotland.com
Olympic finals in London next summer could be won by competitors using testosterone, human growth hormone, EPO and other banned performance-enhancing substances, and all because they have the sporting equivalent of a doctor’s note.
Thus the problems of identifying drug cheats continues among the elites – and health needy masters track and field athletes have the choice of taking needed but banned drugs or giving up their sport. I find this to be a cruel choice. There should be a middle ground – but I suspect it will not happen in my lifetime.
This is a sad situation. As a photojournalist who has attempted to promote Masters Athletics in the media, I am not surprised that the press has pounced on this story. Try to get something positive about Masters in the press and no one is interested, primarily because of ageism. Something negative like drug testing and the press loves it.
The piece on the great Joy Upshaw and her tremendous accomplishments I was able to get the San Francisco Chronicle to publish before Sacramento World’s was a tough sell. If she had been caught taking drugs, the story would have gone national in a second. Says something about the media and its views on Masters Athletes.
Another point…when I presented my photographs of Masters Athletes to a group of more 100 geriatric doctors during a Grand Rounds presentation at NYU Medical School, I asked them if they thought drug testing was a workable program for an older athletic population.
There was no consensus. Many pointed that drug testing was developed for a younger “less medically complex” athletic population and doubted its applicability to a population on complicated medical regimens.
Others feared that some patients would stop taking their meds if they feared retribution.
Others laughed off the TUE program as something that tests how well someone is able to negotiate the system rather than providing any real purpose in eliminating illegal PED use.
When medical professionals can’t agree, what’s the point of drug testing? Craig’s call for further discussion is wise.
Unfortunately, as the program exists, more and more people like Craig will get caught up in a system that is not well thought out….and the press will have a field day.
How many more stories on Masters Athletes taking drugs (even under a doctor’s care) before participants just decide it’s not worth the potential embarrassment?
In trying to the level the playing field, unfortunately it seems that the field is in danger of simply disappearing.
It is important to be sure of the facts before taking up the banner for a cause.
Here’s the facts as I understand them:
1. Craig was taking an unapproved substance, and knew that he would not be able to get a TUE for it (so Nolan’s suggestion, while compassionate, wouldn’t work here).
2. The plan for drug testing was widely communicated, so one has to assume that he knew he could be tested but chose to compete anyway.
3. Virtually all drugs that stimulate or replace male hormones are banned – not because each and every one of them have been shown to be performance-enhancing, but because most of them do enhance or at least preserve muscle mass, hemoglobin, etc., and the PED industry will always be one step ahead of the enforcers.
What we don’t know is why he was taking a hormone replacement drug, but his statement that he knows he would not have received a TUE suggests to me that it was not for a major medical illness.
So, with these facts, I am not ready to believe that the USADA/USATF made a bad decision here. I agree with Stefan that we need a policy with enforcement. Should the banned list be different for masters competitors? Possibly, it’s a worthwhile question, but I doubt there will be much interest in the near future for running studies to determine which drugs are performance-enhancing in our relatively small, non-lucrative population.
I guess before I’m ready to challenge the USADA/USATF, I would like an example of someone who truly got screwed. I’m not convinced that was the case for Craig. He “didn’t want to ask someone’s permission” and didn’t want to “scurry around checking a massive list of banned substances and change medications that might not work as well”. So he competed. If we say that philosophy is OK, then we invite abuse.
Checking the list is easy. Getting a TUE is somewhat more difficult – I know, because I have exercise-induced asthma, but my doc could not document it on a treadmill test, so he would not sign a TUE for me to use a bronchodilator, so I compete without that. And I’m OK with that, because I know that in the big picture, that is the right way to go.
I think a lot of good comments have been made, and this is worthy of more discussion and refinement. But in the meantime, I would rather see an imperfect testing program that we can improve with time than none at all. When PED use is tacitly allowed, that’s a health problem, too – perhaps even more for masters athletes than for those in their prime.
The “master” athletes are now in age from 35 years to 100 plus. Lets be realistic, it is not going to be possible to find a rule that is fair for everybody, but we need to have some drug rules. In younger categories there is a substantial overlap with the elite group. We cannot have two different rules for the overlapping age groups. You can compete as an elite athlete if you are drug free or you can compete for masters if you are on drugs. Is that the reputation we want to have? TUE is a good start, surely it will need some improvements, but it is better than “anything goes”. Call me a drug-paranoid if you will…
I think the issue goes deeper as it speaks to the inner psyche of a person (I don’t think Craig is one) who would need to take drugs to enhance their performance at this age? What kind of insecure person needs to be a champion from 40-100 so bad? This site is guilty as are we all for lauding and promoting records, records, records, and not concentrating on interesting stories for just average guys out there competing.
Another round of negative publicity is sure to follow after the postive tests from Sacramento are ajudicated. They story will probably warrant less attention if the athletes involed are not from North America or Europe.
Some difficult issues raised here. One thing I do know is that older people differ a lot from the young and have greater medical needs. For example, according to the National Institute on Aging, more than half of Americans over 60 and about 3/4 of those over 70 have high blood pressure.
Anecdotally, we know that various masters athletes have come back from cancer, heart surgery, and perhaps even a stroke to compete again. Furthermore, unless they are crazy, 100% of masters athletes want to prevent cancer, stroke, or a heart attack in the future.
Now, how does this match up with the 20-somethings currently representing the US at the world meets? How many young hurdlers or sprinters, for example, are even thinking about preventing a stroke in the future? “None” would be my guess.
Thus, I am in favor of a system that recognizes the needs of older athletes in everyday medical terms. The issue of building strength/losing strength is quite complex, however. Losing strength is normal with aging but it can be accelerated by a physiologic abnormality on the one hand or by laziness on the other. Quite a challenge to resolve.
Craig, if others held your view on bending the rules to compete, you likely would not have been top ten. So i am 44 and want to keep up with Nolan Shaheed, Should I just dope up until I catch up? The Drug use explains why your body type has not changed in the last 15 years. No organization is hiding behind anything, they are just telling you to follow the guidelines as a thrower, runner, jumper set forth by this organization and others worldwide. Really, you are a thrower who takes a drug to artificially throw further in competition. “What kind of insecure person needs to be a champion from 40-100 so bad”? If you are functional day to day, go out like the others and throw your 20 or 30 meters without the boost. No one told you before you got busted that you couldn’t compete, just be clean. Don’t have sour grapes and and go out on this “clean up” the sport thing is an “illusion” because we are different…yada, yada, yada. Do the best with what you have and quit whining. Did you not apply for the TUE because people would know about the boost? We are one man cleaner today, so long and the best of health to you.
First, they should clean up the so-called Prohibited
Substance List by removing substances that are not performances inhancing.
Second, the TUE is a avenue that an athlete can use to gain an advantage. It’s purpose is only for permission. As long as it exists, there can be no level playing ground.
Finally, most masters athletes take PED’s for health reasons. Even though they are prescribed by doctors, some drugs can assist athletes in gaining an advantage; especially when the drugs are not taken as prescribed.
Bottom line, unfortunately, there can be no parity in competition as long as anyone is allowed to take PED’s for any reason. The only solution is to allow everyone (who chooses) to use PED’s (abuse) and eliminate testing all together.
Oscar thinks outside the box and truly makes sense. Let whatever idiot wants to drug themselves up go and win medals and set records. I’m not going to win too many sprint titles, no matter how many PEDs I use. My only hope is to outlive the competition and maybe I can win the 120-124 age group in about 80 years.
Considering all the requirements( proper papers, wind guage readings) needed to have a record validated; does anyone really want a record to stand under the taint of a drug; regardless of it’s health merits ??
I think there is one other statement made by Craig that deserves further attention:
“…yet there is no research done on masters level athletes that would indicate hormone replacement therapy (Androgel) is in fact a PED. It is easier for organizations to hide behind generalities than to have an open and honest debate about legal medications and how they may/may not improve performance with regard to master level athletes.”
While this is technically true because he qualifies it by saying there is no research done on masters level athletes, it is a little disingenuous when Androgel (a testosterone gel) has been shown to be a PED in so many other settings, even in the elderly. For example, Sattler et al (J Clin Endocrinol Metab) reported in 2009 that a testosterone gel “produced significant gains in total and appendicular lean mass, muscle strength, and aerobic endurance with significant reductions in whole-body and trunk fat” in a population of 122 men 70.8 +/-4.2 years of age.
Given all the evidence that increasing one’s testosterone level improves muscle mass and performance, I think it is appropriate that testosterone and other androgenic supplements are banned, and that it is not necessary to show that they have the same effect in masters-level athletes that they do in young men, old men, and everyone in between.
The challenge is to address the situation presented by Bubba in a previous entry, of someone whose testosterone levels are far below the norms even for older men. I agree with his suggestion that levels within the normal range for age should be acceptable, whether accomplished by good genes and good luck, or by hormone replacement. What we should be preventing are those whose levels are above what is natural and normal at a given age when that is achieved by artificial means.
I say no TUE for steroids.
Guess what as you get older you lose testosterone, some more than others, that is one reason for years people would marvel at masters still being able to run, let alone run fast.
I am in my 50’s always quite muscled but i notice my legs getting drastically smaller in the last 3 years amongst other things.
Should i go get a prescription because my hormones are rapidly changing?
In my mind that would be cheating, if we do not allow natural aging than the masters records mean nothing.
I spend alot of time cycling, i see guys hopped up on hormone therapy who have totally different bodies at 50 then they had at 30. Yea that is extreme but should some people look no different after two decades? I wont mention any names specifically but knowing there are TUE’s to counteract the aging process, micro dosing steriods for recovery just puts every performance into a questionable area.
Only life threatening conditions should receive TUE’s. Michael Phelps getting amphetimenes to “treat” ADD is garbage. Will he drown if he does not get his meds?
Legitmate asthma not “exercise induced” asthma is a life threatening condition. So much cheating….
Craig: “At our ages, we all have medical issues that medical science can help alleviate, so why not have a reasonable, well-intentioned PED policy?”
All? I have heard this before, other masters who were tested positive. Reasonable is to alleviate medical issues but winning medals or setting records is something vey different. You can win by being the best and/or by taking PED’s. From the outside we will not be able to see the difference. Alleviating a medical issue is at the same time alleviating medalling.
I do not understand the “my throwing days are done […] I will miss seeing all of my friends around the circuit.” When you have a medical issue and drop from a medal to last place, what’s wrong about that? The middle ground, which is spoken of by others would be that you drop only to place ten or so, not alleviate the winning of medals. And when the medical issue is so severe that you stop competing you can still hang around with the friends, coach others, be busy with video analysis or whatsoever. The sport is not about having to win.
Weia. When you are suspended, there is a strong psychological aversion to the athletics body that suspends you. You simply may not want to compete in their colours again.
Maybe we need to split the master track into two organizations. One for athletes with no drug use and the other with drug use allowed.
Milan. Cute. But not when we really need to do the opposite. Ditch WMA. Move the current WMA masters track and field functions to a separate masters committee within IAAF. And ensure that ALL, and I mean ALL, national masters federations (including BMAF and the colonies) report likewise to separate masters organisations within their respective national governing bodies, on the USATF masters model for instance. Incidentally, USATF masters is now really setting the trend on the masters drug issue. We Europeans like that.
I think there is a little bit of bad, a little bit of good, and a big grey area in between, as regards PEDs for us old folk. It’s easy to complain about it when you personally have reasonably good health and only face declining athletic ability, its another thing when your health and well being is going down or is gone and there exists a drug that can give you your life back, but it is a PED. It’s a complex problem. To put your opinion into one or the other extreme viewpoint is narrow minded, in my opinion.
For some people two things are true, they love competing in Masters T&F, and they love having a feeling of being healthy. I’m hearing a lot of: choose one, but not both. How tough is that?
One of the reasons given for banning certain substances at the open level is that they are unhealthy. So we don’t want to make athletes choose between being healthy and being competitive. However, at the masters level some drugs which are prescribed for promotion of health and well being are being banned. If we believe the doctors in these cases, the masters athlete in some cases is being forced to be less healthy if they want to compete. Is that what we want to do??
Armando your statement about Craig not being in the top ten if other athletes used the same meds as him shows how little you know about him and his competitive record. You should do some research before making idiotic statements.
I never understood how the drugs helped performance and still do not care to learn about it. It doesn’t make that much difference in our masters performance does it? There are drugs that are helping masters athletes stay alive and I have met some masters athletes that have given me hope for life.
When I heard drug testing masters athletes would start, I felt it was another way they would get money from us (masters). We already pay plenty of money to participate and “they” know it. I mean I compete and don’t expect to win, but I have fun being there amongst other competitors. I make friends. If masters athletes aren’t allowed to compete, then coming to the competitions I pay nearly a thousand dollars for, will be ungratifying.
I am a bit disappointed because it doesn’t feel right to monetarily abuse masters athletes. Am I missing the point here? Please help me to understand.
Agree with Milan Jamrich (no.24): “Maybe we need to split the master track into two organizations. One for athletes with no drug use and the other with drug use allowed”.
The normal guys, who don’t take any PEDs for any reason, even a medical one, may compete freely and separately, without setting records (except PBs), just for fun, for the love of athletics, and for overcoming their own limits.
Unfortunately, we know that is not realistic.
Taking PEDs gives an advantage, no matter if they are used for some medical reason. I am not a health expert and don’t know for how long they have to be taken – for several weeks, months, years…?
Is it possible for these masters taking PEDs for a medical reason for some period, to abstain from competing during that period? When they are not on PEDs (when they stop taking them), they will be welcome back again in the competitions.
And I fully support Gary (no.13): “What kind of insecure person needs to be a champion from 40-100 so bad? This site is guilty as are we all for lauding and promoting records, records, records, and not concentrating on interesting stories for just average guys out there competing”.
I wonder how guys winning on PEDs, can look at their image in the mirror after that? Are they proud of themselves? No scruples, no shame…?
To be honest, I am fed up with all these discussions about medical reasons, TUE, etc. If for some medical reason in the future I will have to take PEDs, I will simply stop competing officially. Simple. That’s all.
Not sure if some of these medical reasons are invented, just to have justification for taking these PEDs. Are PEDs the only (or the best) treatment for certain diseases?
Does alternative (Chinese, etc.) medicine recommend PEDs for any disease?
All the best, and good luck.
ventsi. Right on. And if I also for some medical reason in the future have to take PEDs, I also will simply stop competing officially. It is indeed that simple.
27 and 28:You hit the nail!
It might be important to distinguish between true performance enhancing drugs (steroids, terosterone, growth hormones) and other drugs on the banned list. Many people like myself have high blood pressure and take diuretics which are on the list because they mask steroids, but offer no boost in performance in and of it own. If you start talking “no TUEs”, and Masters track loses everyone with high blood pressure entries will be way down.
Well, first we need to go back to the Prohibited Substances List (see Oscar Peyton above, no. 17). What we need is a list of substances for masters, one that gets rid of prohibited substances that are not PEDs. People aged 60 to 100, on average, take a lot of drugs. They don’t need PEDs, as a rule, but they need drugs.
If they don’t need drugs, what should we tell the millons of Americans aged 60+ who have diabetes, high blood pressure, or osteoarthritis? There are drugs for these problems.
Thus, the big issue for me is separating the performance-enhancing drugs from medications that do not enhance performance. Any wholesale prohibition of “drugs” will not work. On the other hand, prohibiting PEDs might work.
Maybe you should be able to self-identify yourself as a medical PED user, allowed to compete, but not listed in the final standing.
Question: if the intention of the drug-testing program is to ban athletes taking illegal drugs, why can’t the offending athletes be told privately? Why does an announcement need to be made that then gets picked up the press?
Let the athletes themselves then explain to their peers why they are no long competing.
Making a public announcement only tarnishes the image of Masters Athletics in general.
I thought I would stay out of this but did see a really good idea from Milan. Instead of having a drug free competition like weightlifting allowing athletes who are taking peds to just have to declare their situation and not be counted in the official places in the order of results but be identified as a person who has to take age related drugs that don’t meet the TUE criteria. Or creatng tues for testosterone, hormones, steroids etc. for this group of people. Life supporting tues to get to normal age levels.
If the system allowed for this up front disclosure I think we wouldn’t have this perceived public shame and suspension.
I think that many of us do this sport for the fun of it; health, comradery, practice etc. We shouldn’t be casting off our friends because they have a health problem.
When I run out of testosterone I would like to be able to be supplemented to normal levels for my age and still be able to continue throwing as long as the other parts of my body let me.
The medals and place don’t matter that much. The only one who remembers what I threw might be ME.
Rob, I think telling people privately might be a good idea for the individual and Masters T&F.
We are not competing for money or the Olympics.
The above would be our Masters exception.
People like Craig should not have to give up their passion. Most of these folks are good people not trying to beat the system, I think.
George
George, thanks for your support of my idea of privately telling athletes they have been banned because of illegal drug use.
This idea of public flogging seems inappropriate for Masters, who after all compete as a hobby and not to get a million dollar endorsement deal from Nike.
Let’s remember that Masters have families, jobs, etc., and to have your name plastered in newspapers around the country as a drug-taker seems like punishment far beyond the seriousness of the crime.
Like George Mathews, I wanted to stay out of this, but some of the comments here made me just short of crazy.
1. I was thinking about the same idea as George had of having declared cases where medically necessary drugs (yes, including androgens when needed to prevent other medical problems) that might be PED’s could compete, but not place.
2. I’m only 51, and in pretty good health, but I’m seeing the day when I may need a drug for medical reasons that could not be permitted by the prohibited list. Anyone who thinks they will never be in this situation … well, be thankful that your genetics have made you superman/superwoman.
3. And I will come clean here. For a period of about 3 years, one of the hypertension medications that I was using contained a diuretic. I did not realise that it was a prohibited substance until after I was taken off the medication. So beat me. Diretics are not PEDs, but they can be used as masking agent. I’m not using that diuretic now, but how many masters are using diuretics for hypertension control? I’d bet a lot are. They are inexpensive and the first line medication for control of uncomplicated hypertension. This is one example of where the list of prohibited medications is not realistic for masters.
4. Again, for the supermen/superwomen out there … look at the case of Bubba Sparks. If I understand correctly, in his situation, injury result from his untreated condition. How reasonable is it to tell a masters athlete (masters, not paid elite), “Hey, if you want to participate in this healthy, sporting activity, you must assume a substantially increased risk of injury.” Again, not reasonable in my mind. In this case, George’s suggestion is a good idea.
My 2 cents here. I’m sure that many will vehimently disagree. THROW LONG.
Rob and George. So you don’t believe hanging out the drug offender with full date of birth in your federation’s athletics magazine, like the British Masters Athletics Federation (BMAF) did in my case? Interesting.
On the other hand i was banned for complaining about BMAF officers, a much more serious offence than drugs.
One of the reasons given for banning certain substances at the open level is that they are unhealthy. So we don’t want to make athletes choose between being healthy and being competitive. However, at the masters level some drugs which are prescribed for promotion of health and well being are being banned. If we believe the doctors in these cases, the masters athlete in some cases is being forced to be less healthy if they want to compete. Is that what we want to do??
My testosterone was tested and found to be below normal values. Medically prescribed hormones (Testosterone) brought me back into the low normal range. More importantly, my symptoms cleared up. There is a growing body of evidence that shows that low testosterone can lead to many medical problems.
I don’t see what the problem is if you’re in the normal range. Something went wrong with my body and the doctor got me back on track. If your iron was low and you supplemented with pills that brought you back into the normal range, are you cheating? Should you instead just deal with the low iron levels that life dealt you?
I plan to compete while on medication. I doubt I will win any medals or get tested. But, even if I do, I’m fine with that.
I think most people that are so emotionally and violently against any form of TUE or medication do not have to suffer with low hormone levels.
This blog really shows the need for more education on this subject by everyone, including me.
One observation is that people need to be careful about what they share with their identity. Any use of synthetic testosterone is illegal for USATF/WMA drug testing purposes. That being even to bring a male up to “normal” levels for one’s age. You can’t get a TUE for that. I had a losing debate on this with the previous USATF legal council.
The answer for not using diuretics for hypertension is that there are other alternatives drugs. I know first hand having taken hypertension drugs for over 35 years. There are alternatives but isn’t easy to find the right combinations. I check the USADA list everytime I change drugs and check it again at least 4 weeks prior to a drug testing competition. They can change per Jud Logan prior to one of his Olympics.
I pushed very hard with WMA when I was the US Chair. Actually, I think Stan Perkins was the drig czar them. The standard answer was that it would take to much money and time to identfy with science all the implications of drugs for Masters athletes.
I don’t think we are going to be able to change the system as it exists in my lifetime, but establishing a catagory of upfront, declared athletes who must take banned substances for their health I think is a practical alternative.
Maybe a survey by Ken to see who would be willing to compete under these circumstances and a committee to move the option forward with our drug czar Steve Cohen and the Masters Committee. Maybe have it be subject at the USATF annual meeting. Find out who the delegates to the are and tell them how you feel. Remember we have a representative form of governance.
We need to get beyond complaining about the existing rules and come up with some practice alternatives that should go into the test mode.
If you are not in the alternative declared group you could still be tested and fail. From that point of view it’s still all about a level competitive field.
Instead of fighting the system, let’s work it.
George
I agree with Peter Taylor. Let’s try to be rational about this if at all possible. There are plenty of drugs requiring TUEs, like my asthma medication, that do not enhance performance. My doctor expressed surprise when I presented him with the TUE form, for that exact reason.
I agree with 24 and 43 🙂
#42, Matthew says “Medically prescribed hormones (Testosterone) brought me back into the low normal range”
Key to me here is “low normal”. If you’re BELOW normal as verified by a doctor, take whatever you want to get to LOW normal (pick a number, 30%??) and have at it. If you test above that, you fail. Gives you an option to stay healthy and still compete.
If you’re LOW normal to begin with, you’re on your own.
Per the links below, I hope that doctors refusing to accept most cases — not all– of low testosterone as normal aging in males does not boomerang as it did with doctors prescribing hormone replacement therapy for aging women.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/causes/hormonetherapy/menopausal-hormone-use/Page2
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/100776.html
http://womenshealth.about.com/od/estrogenfaqs/f/estrogenbcahyst.htm
Just as the plethora of TV adds trumpeting various depression medications suddenly made people think “hey,I’m depressed…I want that med”…so too I think will all the new ads attributing middle-aged malaise to “Low T” inspire a lot of men to be treated for low testosterone, whether it’s “right” to treat them or not.
If Abbott Labs and their advertising budget have anything to do with it, all middle-aged men will be on testosterone supplements soon.
My understanding is you can’t take synthetic testosterone period.
Again I’m not advocating any change in testing or banded substances or tues we have now but creating a separate catagory for athletes who can’t get a tue for banded substances required for their normal health. Let’s not throw these athletes away.
George
I disagree, the [system] and [rules] has changed to what it is now for masters athletes and by approval of individuals in positions of authority. Masters Athletics is getting more complex each year. I witnessed the change occurring, still I do not understand why it is so important for masters athletes to be tested causing the extra costs. I guess I would not mind if we didn’t have to pay for it in addition to all the other surcharges. I remember sitting in a meeting and the representatives said it would not cost masters athletes.
We get nothing real valuable for competeing: the medals and bragging rights for maybe a few years (The friendships are invaluable.) Masters athletes are not getting paid, or are we? I can understand how it matters when prize money is on the line.
The USADA obviously needs to have payment (or recoupment of funds) for their services. I noticed they are attempting to get the NFL on board now. What will it cost the NFL in contributions? Obviously, drugs is a problem in athletics. Additionally,with the number of athletes competeing and publicity, there is money to be earned by making it a major problem. It provides jobs for medical personnel.
It has become prevalent since baseball players got accused of using drugs.
maybe i’m wrong, but aren’t all drugs performance enhancing…? that’s their job. i have allergy induced asthma, and living in new jersey ( the garden state ) the different seasons bring different symptoms.the meds i take are prescribed to alleviate the misery associated with the cause, and in fact, enhance my ability to perform at a “normal” level, by displacing the effects of the ragweed, mold…etc. not for a minute would i take something that’s sole purpose was to give me an advantage over an opponent…on the contrary…i take the meds to “even the playing field of life ” so that i’m not walking around with my nose running and eyes swollen …it’s funny though, i’ve had my best marks as a masters while courting a bad cold..a temp of over 100 and just plain feeling like @#$%…this has happened to me on a number of times throughout different years, and is documented…
Washer in #46 hits the point I think. In another topic anonymous sais the normal testosteron range is 200-800 and by medicine he brought his form 75 to 300. Why 300? Then there will be a man who says ‘lets try 790, that’s normal’ and he wins gold every time and set records…
Adthma medicines are very different, someone with healthy lungs does not gain anything. So asthmatic people can only brought to their own personal ‘normal’ level, not to un unnormal level.
Some athletes regardless of age have taken something or other in before and after competation and still do because it can not be controlled. Should we continue to try? I vote yes but lets think outside the box ….lets have clean marks and so called dirty marks. Anyone who wins or makes a record will be required to be tested. Lots of people are not going to like that!! Ok so now lets have 2 winners if the one who wins is dirty. yes, feeling good about doing it without drugs should be encouraged. How about this…the clean winner gets the medal and the official clean record. Since we don’t know about all the past meets we can start a new list which denotes clean and dirty. If people feel so strong about being that way and I do, we should have a distinction between bionic and natural limbs and energy systems in our body. It may be non-chemical. Hey we have masters right now with lighter stronger artifical limbs than any natural one can be. Ok so I am really out there I guess but you tell me how to deal with what wrong has been done in the past with this. I am not educated enough to compromise on complex issues like this. I do know this much…I am getting older and if I were to need something to make me normal and it was on the list but not to the point of being some kind of muscle building stuff etc..Its amount should be monitored and taken into consideration. For everyone at certin ages some drugs should be allowed for specific cases. Controlling what and how much should be more flexable with masters. Young athletes should not need anything and be considered normal thus no training enhancements and unfair advantages. I probably did not help this matter but maybe a different direction.
I’m writing this for Craig Shumaker and any other throwers who feel they have a legitamate need to use hormone replacement therapy for health reasons. The Scottish Highland Games Association has just review this same problem with their athletes and though they do see concerns of abuse, they have approved the use of HRT prescribed by a doctor. This is the site to read more about their ruling, http://www.scottishmasters.org/HRT_Policy.html This way if thrower has a true need to be on HRT and still has the desire to compete in throwing events, they don’t have to retire or call it quits as Craig stated in his letter, while keeping the throwers that are not taking any banned substances in track and field happy competing in a drug free, or at least drug approved enviroment. Hope this helps some of you out there.
A simple compromise to this is to DQ an athlete without a ban at the masters level. Then they can address whether they choose to compete with whatever drugs they choose to use. In the purest sense though is it really fair in any one competition whether any PED is doctor prescribed or not? If someone is breaking down at some age and someone else isn’t, isn’t that part of what makes masters competition tick, how you’ve treated your body over the years? Is it just about your birthdate? One might even argue the artificial hip replacement gives an unfair advantage. Looking forward what if someone replaces much of their body with 20yo type parts…then what? Ultimately this has to boil down to personal goals. Only you know where you are, where you want to be and how you intend to get there…and whether or not you’ve actually accomplished something if you reach your goal.
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