Topic: Doping and the IWF: Lessons from Bulgaria

[Michael Cayton]

I hope readers here will not mind if I post a message that I also have posted on goheavy. I feel it is an important topic, and one which needs attention in the coming months of 2009.

Having lived mainly in Bulgaria over the past 8 years  (I originally came here as an economic consultant to the Bulgarian Ministry of the Economy under a US Treasury Dept. program), I have had much opportunity to become familiar with the Bulgarian lifting scene. While in the past I did not give much time or thought to weightlifting governance, what I have heard, read,  and seen here in Bulgaria has certainly caught my attention. So, with the on-going re-organization of the USAW management structure, the up-coming elections in the IWF, and -- the huge doping scandal which hit the Bulgarian team last summer, I thought it might be a good time to throw in my two bits.

I noticed recently in a prominent Bulgarian sports newspaper a column entitled “The Purgatory in Weightlifting.”  I was struck by the column not because it so well-written nor because I agree with it in any particular details, but because it reflects beliefs which are very commonly held here in Bulgaria -- and probably elsewhere in the world.  Usually, though, they are not so clearly stated, at least not publicly.  I decided to translate the column and those interested can read it on a blog  (http://michaelcayton.spaces.live.com/blog). But the main points that come out are the following:

1) The only individuals and  teams with serious possibilities for winning medals in international weightlifting competition are those who are using ‘medicaments,’ i.e., performance-enhancing drugs.
2) That the above point (1) is widely known and essentially accepted by all the serious players -- athletes, coaches, and officials -- in international weightlifting.
3) That the IWF’s doping control program is essentially a money-gathering game. Countries that are willing and able to pay big bucks can avoid or minimize sanctions and  suspensions.
4)  Countries with serious sports-medicine programs (one of those being China) can and do organize and control their athletes’ use of performance-enhancing drugs so as to avoid positives in official doping tests. Which is the real motive for establishing a state-supported modern, ‘certified’ testing lab in Bulgaria.

In my opinion, that this kind of thinking is still prevalent, after all the time and money spent on anti-doping efforts, does not speak well for the performance of the IWF in trying to clean up the sport. I believe also that the situation is especially detrimental for US lifters -- and prospective US lifters -- since the anti-doping efforts in the US, which are handled almost entirely by US Anti-Doping Commission, are so tough.

The IWF will be holding new elections for the president and other officials in March of 2009. I believe that the USAW should be active in those elections, promoting thorough examination and discussion of the candidates’ platforms and backgrounds. The USAW should also become much more involved in the post-election management of the IWF. Especially, the IWF could use a lot more transparency.

I have nominated myself to be one of the 'independent' directors in the new USAW Board of Directors. Should I be selected, this issue of IWF governance will certainly be a high priority for me. But regardless of my own role, I hope US lifters will take the time to push this issue with the USAW Board and CEO that will come into office in 2009.

Mike Cayton

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Michael,

You have my vote. Most of our current leadership has given up completely trying to get doping reform and puts the onus on clean athletes to just beat the dopers anyway.

[Michael Cayton]

Chris,
As I understand it there won't be any general voting on the 'independent' directors (in fact, I don't really know how they will be selected, just that the governance & reform committee will do the selecting), but I certainly appreciate the expression of support in any case.

Frankly, what really bugs me is this: suppose there had been no doping all of these past 40 years or so, WHO would have been winning the medals then?  I have come to the conclusion that there is probably not a single medalist in the Olympics or the world championships  for the past 35 years who was not also a doper at least part of the time. We have no idea who would have been winning the medals without the doping -- very possibly some of them might have been US lifters (or others) who never had a serious chance because they were not into the drugs. It is very aggravating.

I think that if we are going to have any doping control it needs to be applied 100% and as transparently as possible. If, as it certainly seems to me,  the IWF has not been doing a good job on doping control, then the IWF needs to be cleaned up, too.

[ryankyle]

     The following is from the September 2000 issue of Milo, Volume 8, Number 2.  The article is by Randall Strossen, Ph.D. and is titled Pete George:  Secrets of Success from the First Bulgarian Weightlifting Superstar.

     "Improving U.S. weightlifting performances, Pete says, "is a very important question because it's an embarrassment to our country [and] to weightlifting.  Progress in the United States has just been abysmal.  We used to be the number one nation in the world and now if one of our lifters breaks into the top ten, we celebrate.  It's pathetic.""
     "And don't expect too much sympathy if you want to point fingers and sing the they're-on-drugs blues, because while he is quick to acknowledge the hypertrophy and recovery benefits of anabolic steroids, for example, he stresses they also have a tremendous placebo effect.  So while he says, "There is no question that there are some benefits, I don't think that's by any means all the explanation," and Pete attributes great importance to the phsychological factors involved." 
     "If an athlete thinks, 'They are using drugs and I'm not, I can't hope to lift as much as they can, I therefore probably will lift twenty percent or ten percent less, and my goal is there and I can't go above that.'  We all set goals in our mind - the most obvious goal in athletics was the four-minute mile.  There cannot be any question in anybody's mind that it was a psychological achievement, not a physiological one."
     This is the real reason behind the dysmal perfomances of U.S. lifters - lack of improvement - not who is on what.  We tend to breed an excuse laden mind set to our lifters.  "Well so and so was on the drugs that's why we can't crack the top ten."  Give me a break, how about training 12 times a week like so and so before you give that excuse.  Anyone seen the OTC lifters train?  It's like a retirement home.  They may claim to be training 2 or 3 times a day but when all you do is walk in and do drop snatches, that can not be considered a training session.  I was there in 2006 and watched it.  They may not have the use of anabolics but they do have access to every other recovery measure under the sun and then some so there is no reason they should not be training harder.  And by harder I do not mean more drop snatches and pulls I mean pushing each other to lift heavier and heavier snatches and clean and jerks because that is all that matters. 

Ryan

[Mike Wittmer]

     The following is from the September 2000 issue of Milo, Volume 8, Number 2.  The article is by Randall Strossen, Ph.D. and is titled Pete George:  Secrets of Success from the First Bulgarian Weightlifting Superstar.

     "Improving U.S. weightlifting performances, Pete says, "is a very important question because it's an embarrassment to our country [and] to weightlifting.  Progress in the United States has just been abysmal.  We used to be the number one nation in the world and now if one of our lifters breaks into the top ten, we celebrate.  It's pathetic.""
     "And don't expect too much sympathy if you want to point fingers and sing the they're-on-drugs blues, because while he is quick to acknowledge the hypertrophy and recovery benefits of anabolic steroids, for example, he stresses they also have a tremendous placebo effect.  So while he says, "There is no question that there are some benefits, I don't think that's by any means all the explanation," and Pete attributes great importance to the phsychological factors involved." 
     "If an athlete thinks, 'They are using drugs and I'm not, I can't hope to lift as much as they can, I therefore probably will lift twenty percent or ten percent less, and my goal is there and I can't go above that.'  We all set goals in our mind - the most obvious goal in athletics was the four-minute mile.  There cannot be any question in anybody's mind that it was a psychological achievement, not a physiological one."
     This is the real reason behind the dysmal perfomances of U.S. lifters - lack of improvement - not who is on what.  We tend to breed an excuse laden mind set to our lifters.  "Well so and so was on the drugs that's why we can't crack the top ten."  Give me a break, how about training 12 times a week like so and so before you give that excuse.  Anyone seen the OTC lifters train?  It's like a retirement home.  They may claim to be training 2 or 3 times a day but when all you do is walk in and do drop snatches, that can not be considered a training session.  I was there in 2006 and watched it.  They may not have the use of anabolics but they do have access to every other recovery measure under the sun and then some so there is no reason they should not be training harder.  And by harder I do not mean more drop snatches and pulls I mean pushing each other to lift heavier and heavier snatches and clean and jerks because that is all that matters. 

Ryan

Unfortunately, the above is just naive.  I have watched a lot of training at the junior world championships and have seen some of the best lifters in the world.  The benefits of performance enhancing drugs should be obvious.  And, one does not have to look at just weightlifting, either.  The European coaches and even the Chinese ("Chinese medicine") are fairly open about drug use.  One coach even said, discussing steriod use and testing, "You Americans are already rich.  This is one of the few ways we can make some money.  Leave us alone."

If everyone was lifting drug free, most likely the same lifters would be winning, however the current drug free countries would close the gap.     

[David Woodhouse]

THe assumption that all US lifters were/are clean is rather frustrating. The US were not all that competitive in the 70's and 80's BEFORE out of competition testing (and when drug testing was really just a PR exercise).

I think Speed Trap, Game of Shadows and Positive have all illustrated the prevalence of drugs within American sport.

[ryankyle]

Mike,
     By posting that I was not excusing drug use or saying that it doesn't exist.  What I am saying is that before we look at drug use we should first look at ourselves and ask if we are doing all we can to be the best.  Comparing the results of this years Senior Nationals to the world records as per 1969 - matching classes as close as possible for instance 67.5 vs. 69kg - No lifter would have exceeded the world record biathlon total of 1969 (I had subtracted the press to get the total)  Taking into account the Pan-Am team only Kendrick Farris would have exceed the world record total in his class.  
     Compare this to track and field where the 100m dash world record in 1969 was 9.9 seconds by Jim Hines, at the 2008 Olympic Trials 6/8 competitors would have tied or exceeded this mark.  That is only in one event.  We have one lifter exceeding the 1969 world record across all 8 weightclasses.  
     Now you might say that U.S. track and field is dirty too, fine doesn't really matter.  The fact is that in 30 years we have barely moved.  We even break American Records at a snales pace.  
     My point is we need to look at the results and say we can get there too, not we need to get within 10% and use roids as an excuse for not getting closer.  There are plenty of super strong people in the U.S. who could draw a bead on the world records weightlifting needs to do a better job of finding them.  Until we can begin to put in more than one good performance per year (usely at a domestic event) then we should not worry about who is on what and more about training.

Ryan

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

If everyone was lifting drug free, most likely the same lifters would be winning, however the current drug free countries would close the gap.

I agree in most cases but I think there would be some lifters that would medal in a truly drug-free competition that currently can't and there are some guys medaling now that wouldn't even be close without drugs.

THe assumption that all US lifters were/are clean is rather frustrating.

Who said that? I think our doping system is tougher than some "elite" nations but I don't see anyone saying there is no one in our ranks that have used.

What I am saying is that before we look at drug use we should first look at ourselves and ask if we are doing all we can to be the best.

That has been exactly our strategy since around 1989-1990. It has worked for us in a few spots but generally playing on an field that is slanted against you doesn't bring out your best. Our lifters suffer from a lack of hope/faith/confidence and a level playing field is a big factor in that weakness and reduces the incentives/rewards for excellence.

We even break American Records at a snales pace. 

That is the way it should be, given a drug-free environment. Sure, the world records surged ahead of the USA for a long time but as drug testing is improving they are actually dropping now on average with each weight class change. Clearly, a set of truly drug-free world records would be somewhere in the middle and probably a little closer to the American records than the current world records.

Happy New Year to all.