U.S. Athletes Get Drug Warnings

Prospective U.S. Olympians have been warned to avoid dietary supplements with vague ingredient lists and over-the-counter medications such as Sudafed, part of an effort by the U.S. Anti-Drug Agency to shatter the image of U.S. athletes and federations being deceitful about the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

“The international perception of America’s athletes is that American athletes are the biggest cheaters in the world,” Terry Madden, chief executive officer of the USADA, said Friday during the U.S. Olympic media summit. “We even passed China and the East Germans. The C.J. Hunter case put us over the top.

“The vast majority of American athletes are clean, but the perception out there is that our athletes are dirty.”

Hunter, the 1999 world shotput champion, tested positive for nandrolone four times in 1999. The results of those tests were announced during the Sydney Olympics, although he had withdrawn from the Games. He retired and did not serve a two-year ban levied against him.

USADA officials said about 1,800 of the 2,500 athletes expected to compete at the Salt Lake City Games have been scheduled for drug tests before the Olympics. Mitt Romney, president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, had said in July at an International Olympic Committee meeting he hoped all participants would be tested.

U.S. athletes will be tested by the USADA, an independent agency formed a year ago with the authority to educate athletes about drug use, establish an anti-doping policy and manage the collection and processing of tests. Athletes from Canada and Australia also can be tested while competing in the U.S. because those nations have agreements with the USADA.

Madden and Dr. Doug Rollins, medical director of doping control for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, said all U.S. athletes in endurance sports will be subjected to pre-Olympic blood and urine tests. Those tests would detect the presence of EPO, which is said to boost energy. The USADA will yield its authority to the World Anti-Doping Agency and the Salt Lake Organizing Committee after Jan. 29.

“I can’t guarantee you these are going to be EPO-free Games,” Rollins said, “but we’re hopeful [the testing] will be a strong deterrent.”

Rollins also said the 37 candidates for the U.S. men’s hockey team were told during the team’s orientation camp in September to avoid Sudafed, which contains ephedrine. Many NHL players are known to take Sudafed to get a “buzz” or energy burst.

“They’re very aware of the Sudafed issue,” Rollins said. “We got their attention when we told them if one of them tested positive for the wrong cold medication, all gold medals would be returned, should they win the gold.”