A German newspaper — the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger — has weighed in on the doping accusations against M40 thrower Ralf Prochnau, whose picture appears on the site with his two young daughters, and M50 runner Josef Muschinski. An accompanying interview with German track official Tanja Haug is revealing in that Haug seems to toe the IAAF line that a few innocent medical-need dopers caught in the net are worth it in the fight against performance-enhanced cheating. The story also reveals that of six athletes tested at the German masters team championships, three came up positive.

Here are rough English translations of the article and the interview:
Doping test of the aged — an expensive venture
COLOGNE – It began with Ben Johnson. It was the first Athlet, which made clear for a world-wide public, how narrow the blurr between heroism and an existence can be as cheats: The Canadian Sprinter became 1988 in sensational 9.79 seconds over 100 meters of olympia winners.
He was celebrated and admired. And only short time on the deepest despises later. He had doped, and one had gotten him. Which for a scandal! Cases of similar kind followed: the East German Sprinterin Katrin crab; large-scale raids in the professional cycle racing; Dieter Baumann.
Gewiefte Dopingkontrolleure supply themselves since that time a head on head running with still gewiefteren Athleten, coaches and physicians. And now they transferred, Josef Muschinski (52) and Klaus Liedtke (63) of Ralf Prochnau (41).
Whom, ask?
“I am a leisure sportsman, I have the public do not betrogen”, do not say the runner Muschinski. And Diskuswerfer Prochnau moniert: “I was never pointed out that I must for the income of my medicine a special permission to be given be able.”
The German Leichtathletik federation (DLV) had accomplished six tests with the German age group crew championships at the beginning of of Septembers in Luebeck – three exhibited a positive result.
“That is surprisingly much”, says Tanja Haug, Justiziarin with the DLV. Those are 50 percent. Prochnau (Pulheimer sports club) and Muschinski (Ahrensburger TSV) explained its findings with medical treatments: The Diuretikum found with Prochnau (means for the reinforcement of the urine elimination) is to be due to a blood high pressure means, and Muschinski gets the male sex hormone due to own production lacking of Testosteron once in the month squirted.
Liedtke (SuS Schalke) did not have an explanation, yet its result was confirmed by the b-sample.
It forces itself the question upon, whom actually got the eager testers here: Obviously a 63-Jaehrigen, which its ambition drives as a senior sportsman to it, the Hochleistungsathleten in things fraud nachzueifern. Besides obviously two leisure sportsmen, who became due to ageconditioned medicine incomes Doping Suendern.
That seems a little skurril. What would probably happen now, if the German Leichtathletik federation (DLV) had sufficient personnel and financial means available, in order to accomplish for instance with a German Leichtathletik senior championship with scarcely 2500 participants more than six controls?
And: Was that resulted in sense? Do some overeager Ehrgeizlinge in the senior sport justify this cost-intensive expenditure? “”, a speaker of the DLV says. “ruin themselves to the protection of the honest ones and for the protection of those, from loud ambition their health.”
The high speed sportsman can attain fame and wealth with his successes. It is located in the center of the medialen interest, profited from the national sport promotion and is to function as model for the new generation. Its honesty to examine makes sense undoubtedly.
But must itself now each sport-driving, which age or illness-causes medicines takes, when potenzieller Dopingsuender feel? Or only that, which participates in German championships?
And in which kinds of sport at all? To assume, with the Leichtathletik Titelkaempfen of the seniors 50 per cent of the starters could, thus 1250 sportsmen – deliberate and inadvertent – to Dopingsuender be, may appear daring. But this assumption shows that in the meantime no longer only the transition from the hero is smeared to the cheat. Also the burr between meaningful and redundant Dopingbekaempfung becomes narrower.
The interview:
With the DLV Justiziarin Tanja Haug spoke Susanne Rohlfing about Dopingkontrollen in the senior sport.
Two the senior sportsman positively tested in Luebeck explained that they are dependent on medicines ordered by the physician.
TANJA HAUG: To these cases I cannot say anything, that am floating procedures. But straight within the senior range are naturally more frequently dependent for medical reasons on medicines humans. To that extent it would be necessary that appropriate exception requests are placed. Does not happen unfortunately always. Perhaps but it helps that a proclamation goes now through the senior sport.
Is it justified to accomplish cost-intensive Dopingkontrollen also in the senior range?
HAUG: The seniors are the same rules subjected as other active one also. To that extent they must keep the rules and make it natural for sense to control from time to time. Relatively however with the seniors one controls less than within the active range.
Why should Dopingkontrollen on so broad basis take place?
HAUG: Doping is a threat for the sport altogether. And also with the seniors there are the “black sheep in such a way specified”, which do not adhere to the rules.
Many different dope however possibly inadvertently. . .
HAUG: Inadvertently gibt’s not. But specially the possibility exists of requesting a special permission.
That would mean that with German senior championships with scarcely 2500 participants very many sportsmen would have to possibly place exception requests.
HAUG: That could be the case.
Is that desirable?
HAUG: So for a long time these seniors at the organized sport participate, in any case. Also there the people want that the achievement, which corresponds to its natural forces is recompenced. The whole Doping control system is an immense bureaucratic expenditure, but it is absolutely necessary, in order to protect the sport and its values.