Chuck Wielgus, the executive director for USA Swimming (the governing body of competitive swimming in the United States), tells the Washington Post that the sport of swimming is inherently more ethical than other sports; as a result, athletes in their sport don’t use anabolic steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs (“Hall Raises the Specter of Doping,” June 30).
[O]fficials from USA Swimming said they believe their athletes are clean because the sport demands they be so.
“There is, within the culture of swimming, this notion that: You know what? If you’re cheating, we want to catch you and we want to throw you out of the sport,” said Chuck Wielgus, executive director of USA Swimming. “In other sports, there’s a culture of excuse-making or protection.”
Olympic swimmer Gary Hall, Jr. (along with practically everyone else in the world) thinks Chuck Wielgus is full of shit (“Doping Blamed for Recent Records,” June 30).
“Do I think it (doping) is getting worse? Yes, I do. It’s here, it’s in the United States. I train with an international group of swimmers and all of them have stories and a few of them have had offers and I’m not at liberty to say (any more).
“Unfortunately, we rely on inadequate (anti) doping agencies for proof.”
The 33-year-old also accused officials of not doing enough to rid the sport of performance-enhancing drugs.
“I have no idea where the sport is as a whole but to think it doesn’t exist is foolish,” he said. “It drives me crazy and I just don’t know how to fight it.
At least one Olympic swimmer seems to agree with Chuck Wielgus and not Gary Hall, Jr. Australian Olympic gold medal hopeful Libby Trickett doesn’t believe anabolic steroid use occurs in the sport of swimming either (“Tickett denies Hall’s swim doping claim,” June 30).
Trickett said she was unaware of doping in the sport.
“I am very naive and ignorant to all that type of stuff and firmly believe it is not happening in our sport,” she said.
“That is not to say that it isn’t, but that’s where I stand. I would like to think that the sport that I compete in is very clean in Australia, we have some of the toughest drug testing of team sport I think.”
But to her credit she freely admits her ignorance on the issue of steroids and doping in swimming and acknowledges that some swimmers might still use steroids in spite of her firm belief that steroid use does not occur.
Do any readers believe the sport swimming is free of steroids?
About the author
Millard writes about anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs and their use and impact in sport and society. He discusses the medical and non-medical uses of anabolic-androgenic steroids while advocating a harm reduction approach to steroid education.
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