He’s Looking for Truth in Labeling

One day after his brakemen Pavle Jovanovic was suspended from competition for two years after testing positive for the use of a banned substance, bobsled driver Todd Hays fired back at international doping officials.

“I know in my heart that Pavle was guilty of nothing,” said Hays, who had a good chance to win the first U.S. bobsledding medal in 46 years with Jovanovic. “My concern now is the adversity he will face for the rest of his life.”

Before a news conference scheduled to discuss the men’s bobsled chances, Jovanovic passed out a statement by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that warned athletes about the unmarked presence of banned substances in dietary supplements.

Jovanovic then dumped several energy bars and an energy-drink can on the table in front of him.

“This stuff is available at every corner of the village, all free of charge, and I find that quite ironic,” he said. “These people [USADA] stand on a soap box and preach integrity, but if somebody will give them a few dollars, they’ll put the stuff on a street corner.”

There is no proof that any of the energy bars displayed by Hays contain banned substances. But his point is that, because of faulty labeling, athletes often don’t know exactly what is contained in any of their energy supplements.

“And the IOC and USADA has failed to educate us on this,” he said, fighting back tears. “They said that 25% of all supplements contain banned substances. But then, they won’t tell us what those supplements are.”

While it is uncertain what Jovanovic was ingesting that caused him to test positive for the banned substance known as 19-norandrosterone, he has acknowledged taking 31 different supplements in the previous year.

Nonetheless, Hays said that athletes need clearer guidelines.

“There’s nothing we’re safe from,” he said.

“Where’s it going to stop? I drink water and eat chicken breasts and salad with no dressing, and that’s it. That’s all I can eat.

“You can’t even go to Starbucks anymore because you will test for too much caffeine.”

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Bill Plaschke