Olympians' lives under microscope
Toolbox
Published: February 27, 2006
Editor's note: Rutland resident Marci Francis, a member of the U.S. National skeleton team, will file periodically from Turin, Italy during the Olympic Games.
As I watched the Olympic closing ceremonies — alongside my teammates as well as athletes from around the world — an incredible sense of pride overcame me as the U.S. contingency marched into the 20th Winter Olympic Games. As an American athlete, I am constantly reminded of how privileged we are, and how often we take for granted some of our most basic freedoms.
It has always been a goal of mine to represent my country in the international arena, to do my part to represent all that American stands for through fair play. But ironically, once you reach a certain competitive level, many of the very freedoms we proudly represent become a thing of the past.
As soon as I earned a spot on the national team, my name and personal information was submitted to the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Association). Instantly, I became a number in their system, patrolled by their rules and regulations in their effort to keep athletes free of illegal, performance-enhancing drugs.
In order to maintain my status as an eligible athlete, I am required to tell USADA where I am 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To help streamline this process, we are given quarterly updates to complete, intended for us to outline the next three months of our lives. We are instructed to put down when and where we will be living, training, working and traveling so that USADA can find us at any given moment. Although this seems relatively simple for most people, it is quite difficult for an athlete whose training and competition schedule is constantly in flux. For every wedding, family emergency, last-minute trip or unplanned change, we must submit a Change of Location form so we can be tracked at all times — making athletes feel as though they are under constant surveillance.
The regular tracing of our whereabouts was implemented so that USADA can randomly drug test athletes, with frequent knocks at the door at 6 a.m. or surprise tests at 7 p.m. If a Doping Control Officer arrives to perform a test and the athlete cannot be reached within the allocated time, they are charged with a missed test. After three missed tests, an athlete becomes suspended for one year, and worse, has their reputation tarnished indefinitely.
When a Doping Control officer makes contact with you, you have two hours to meet them in person, at which point they must remain by your side until you give them a successful urine sample. This process can take all day, for even though as elite athletes we are trained to perform under pressure, bladder pressure is a different story. Even the showiest of athletes get stage fright when there is someone standing 2 feet away watching you — completely exposed — urinate into a cup.
According to USADA, it is entirely the responsibility of the athlete to make sure everything they take, whether prescribed by a doctor or taken to ward off a headache, contains nothing in it which falls into the banned substance category. USADA supplies us with pocket cards, providing a quick reference of banned and prohibited substances. But this is merely a guide and by know means a comprehensive list.
I recently broke my hand while competing in Germany and had to go the only medical facility around, which was a reputable, but somewhat-antiquated hospital. The doctors wanted to operate on me there because they feared further damage, but I chose to wait until I returned home to the United States. Because my hand was twice its normal size and I was in a great deal of pain, I was given medication to help my situation. Between the language barrier and the fact that we travel without a trainer, I chose to deal with the pain and swelling since I had no way to determine if the medicine they gave me contained a banned substance. Had my situation been worse, I may have been given something without my knowledge, which is the grey area of drug testing that many athletes face.
The recent positive drug test of Zach Lund, the top U.S. slider who was recently cleared by USADA but then banned by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) through an appeals process, is one such case where the area of drug testing is not as cut and dry as it appears. Lund, since 1999, had reported on every drug test that he was taking Propecia, a medication to stop male pattern balding. Yet unbeknownst to Zach, Propecia was added to the USADA and WADA banned substance list last year, for it was found to contain an element that could be a potential masking agent for steroids. Things were initially looking up for Lund, as it was proven through past urinalysis and blood tests that he has never used performance-enhancing drugs. He was served with a warning and re-instated to the U.S. Olympic Team. But in a controversial move, WADA held an appeals hearing after the Games had started, and Lund learned of his fate just hours before he was to march in the Opening Ceremonies. WADA, it seems, wanted to teach the U.S. and their star athlete a lesson, stripping Lund of his credentials and sending him home from the Games, a political move that cost an innocent athlete his Olympic dream.
Yet Lund isn't the only Olympian who has been a victim in the anti-drug war. In 2002, the IOC banned Austrian coach Walther Mayer until after the 2010 Games in Vancouver, Canada. Mayer was reportedly spotted here in Turin with the Austrian ski team, raising concern from the IOC. Although Arne Ljungqvist, the chairman of the IOC Medical Commission, said "the IOC can do nothing about how and when he travels", that did not deter them from taking drastic measure against the unsuspecting athletes.
"We were surprised in our room. Suddenly, the police came in and didn't let us leave on the night before the competition. This happened without any positive result from doping control on our team. There's definitely no doping in the Austrian team. It's crazy. It's a very strange procedure of the IOC. It's unbelievable," said Juergen Pinter, an Austrian skier. "They absolutely ruined the race."
"I was talking to (Austrian Skier) Martin Tauber, the first racer in the 4x10 relay and he said they were already asleep when something like six guys were in their room, with guns. They were policemen. They spread their legs, put their hands behind their necks and searched their bodies, their bags, everything. This lasted from about 8:30 until midnight. Then, they went up to Sestriere for doping tests. As far as I know, this has never happened at an Olympic Winter Games," said Austrian Erich Wagner.
In Lund's case, one might be quick to place blame on him for not being more thorough, but the truth is that the USOC, our Federation and USADA are also partly accountable.
As an athlete, the onus is entirely upon us, and all accountability falls into our hands despite the many loopholes making failure possible. Yet if keeping athletes free of banned substances is the USADA's objective, then why did they neglect to inform Lund personally that the medication he had been openly taking for years was now being placed on the banned list?
Every year, millions of dollars are spent by the United States Olympic Committee and the individual sports federations to advance athletic performance in the United States. There is sports science, research, exercise physiologists, trainers and coaches whose sole mission is to make our athletes better, faster and stronger. But for all the time and money spent developing athletes, getting them to the top of their game like Lund, it seems counterintuitive to not work harder to ensure athletes don't miss out on a golden opportunity because of a logistical oversight.
Although it would be a time-consuming measure, a simple database listing every athlete and the known drugs they are taking could have prevented one of the biggest scandals of this games from ever occurring. Had Lund received an e-mail, a phone call or a letter informing him that he needed to stop taking Propecia because of the newly implemented ban, the U.S. would have been one athlete closer to winning a gold.
Lund is the first to admit that he is responsible and doesn't blame anyone for his failed Olympic attempt. Yet as an athlete myself, I can only hope that my federation — along with USADA — will work harder to keep me informed, allowing me to continue focusing on my training without worrying that my allergy medicine hit the banned list while I was representing my country.
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