A new 'Human Growth Hormone' test has been engineered for the Beijing Olympics

I don't understand how hard it could be to find HGH in someone's urine. If you look at the picture on the right, all they have to do is look for a giant mass of ping pong balls stuck to humongous wad of gum! ;-)

From ESPN: "... We know people have been taking human growth hormone with impunity and have been for 20 years," WADA director general David Howman said.

He said the test would be able to catch cheats within a window of "more than 48 hours."

Officials refused to give details, saying drug cheats needed to be left in the dark. But Fahey did say he was very confident about the tests.

"We all know these things end up in court more often than not," he said. "It's got to withstand the legal challenge as well. No reason to believe that all of that won't be in place and that there will be a capacity to test at the Beijing Olympics."

Fahey said traces of the drug could also be frozen and stored in samples for up to eight years, meaning users could still be caught and lose their medals years later.

"Scientists will say very clearly that the storage of plasma is capable of being tested effectively eight years," Fahey said. "It is scientifically sound." [Link]

After I wrote this post, a fellow blogger sent me news that a leading marathon runner has declined to compete in Beijing due to air quality issues. Here is a snippet from The Guardian article he sent: "LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - World record holder Haile Gebrselassie will aim for an Olympic marathon title at the 2012 London Games after deciding the pollution in Beijing this year represents an unacceptable health threat.

The twice Olympic 10,000 metres champion, who will be 39 in 2012, suffers from exercise-induced asthma and will not compete in Beijing unless he qualifies for the Ethiopian 10,000 team. ..." [Link]

The photo of the HGH molecule came from an anti-aging website that sells HGH. That is how easy it is to get if they are selling the real deal: [Link]

Former Olympian, Marion Jones, sentencd to 6 months for lying about her steroid usage!

A former district attorney and now a defense lawyer told me this at the pool: "A fish would never get caught if it didn't open it's mouth." My take is that you either tell the truth or just shut up and let the system work its way through. Just look what happened to Martha Stewart, Bill Clinton, Barry Bonds and now Marion Jones; all of the above got indicted, all were convicted save for Barry Bonds who hasn't gone to trial yet.

Here is a snippet of what the judge told Marion Jones when she begged not to go to jail: "... Before the sentencing, Jones broke down as she asked Karas not to send her to prison. "I plead with you to alleviate the situation by not separating me from my boys, even for a short period of time," she said.

But Karas noted that "athletes in society ... serve as role models to children around the world. When there is a widespread level of cheating, it sends all the wrong messages. ..."
Link to the Marion Jones sentencing at CNN: [Link]

If Marion Jones would never have lied to federal investigators she would not be labeled a "former Olympian" and she would not be going to jail! Olympian, Amy Van Dyken, would certainly understand that for when she was questioned in the Balco scandal she told the Grand Jury everything she knew.

Balco scandal time-line from USA Today and note who is on the list: [Link]