TAC: Suspended Athletes Should Have Known of Banned Drugs

The Athletics Congress, sensitive about published reports that it was banning athletes for taking cold medicines, Thursday defended its drug-testing procedures.

In a 1 1/2-hour conference call with members of the media, TAC officials said, in essence, athletes’ ignorance of banned substances, even in common over-the-counter medicines, is not a legitimate excuse.

Three world-class athletes--Larry Myricks, Greg Foster and Antonio McKay--have been suspended this year for three months.

Myricks, the world’s second-ranked long jumper, said he was suspended for taking Alka-Seltzer, in which a banned substance, pheynlpropanolamine, commonly known as PPA, was found.

Foster, the world champion in the 110-meter high hurdles in 1983 and ‘87, and a former UCLA standout, reportedly took vitamin pills that contained PPA.

McKay, the world indoor champion at 400 meters, also reportedly took PPA.

Henry Marsh, the American record-holder in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and a four-time Olympian, has been banned for two years for failure to report for a drug test.

“Unfortunately, it’s the experienced athletes in track and field who are having the problems, not the younger ones,” said Edwin Moses, a two-time gold medal winner in the 400-meter hurdles and a member of the drug-testing custodial board.

“We’ve been kicked around since the 1988 Olympics (when Canada’s Ben Johnson was stripped of his gold medal in the 100 meters because he tested positive for steroids). But now track and field is way ahead in what we’re doing compared to other sports and, hopefully, our athletes will realize it and have confidence in our program.

“The impression has been given that we are banning athletes from taking cold medicines, and that is not the case.”

Leroy Ellis, the 1984 Olympic track and field coach, and a member of the custodial board, said that TAC is trying to stamp out drug abuse in the sport.

“The USOC (United States Olympic Committee) has a hotline for athletes to find out whether medications are on a banned substance list,” Ellis said. “Any athlete that doesn’t have his or her head in the sand shouldn’t take medications without calling the hotline.”

Moses said that while he was at the recent Mt. San Antonio Relays he heard athletes talking of going to stores to get asthmatic inhalers, which reportedly would provide a performance-enhancing boost.

Dorianne Lambelet, another member of the board, said that athletes have been sent informational packages and should be familiar about drug-testing procedures.

She also said that the guidelines strengthened by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) in regard to dosage minimums in banned substances have been adopted by TAC, the governing body for track and field in the United States.

“We now consider any testing of micrograms per milliliter of over 1.00 to be a positive for a stimulant,” she said.

Lambelet said Myricks tested positive at 23.15 for PPA, Foster’s results showed 14 and McKay recorded 29.

“We have no basis for knowing whether, in fact, the athletes just took Alka-Seltzer or any other cold medicines,” Lambelet said. “The levels we’re seeing of the stimulant are high enough that a cold medicine has been taken, but a pure stimulant was taken on top of that.”

Myricks tested positive at the USA/Mobil Indoor Games Feb. 23 in New York.

Myricks won with a jump of 26 feet 4 1/2 inches, his worst mark of the indoor season.

“This whole thing is unconstitutional the way it’s set up,” Myricks said. “A toxicologist said I could have had 150 micrograms per milliliter before it would make a difference (in my performance).”

Myricks added that there is another substance in Alka-Seltzer, chlorpheniramine, that acts as a depressant and combats any effect PPA might have.

As for not being knowledgeable what substances are on the banned list, Myricks said:

“It would take a genius to know everything on the banned list. You’d have to carry around the list in your back pocket and check it every time you get ready to eat, or drink something. You can call the hot line but they can misinform you.

“I just wanted to get well. I didn’t think I’d be on the sidelines for three months for taking Alka-Seltzer.”