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WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1988, PAGE 7 PAGE SEVEN Byt DougreAndersond JUST THE FACTS PLEASE The week since Ben Johnson was stripped of gold was a shoddy display of lousyjournalism. In the absence of factual information the major media resorted to speculation, innuendo, unidentified sources, and pure fabrication. They filled hours on television and pages of newsprint with interviews of uninformed people offering irrelevant information on subjects they knew little about. Let's examine the facts: 1. Something was found in Ben Johnson's urine sample which the IOC lab identißed as stanozolol, a banned anabolic steroid. To my knowledge the IOC has never stated how much was found .- all stories of large doses and efforts to mask it are, therefore, speculation. 2. The lab also found 'a general depression of Johnson's urinary testosterone (the natural male steroid hormone) which the lab interpreted as indicative of long term use. 3. Johnson had been receiving corticosteroids for treat- ment to repair his torn hamstring and in these circumstances this was an allowable substance. 4. Anabolic steroids are part of sport. Some coaches claim 90% use them; others say 90% are clean. No matter which you believe, they are common but underground. Information, suspicions, superstitions and the drugs themselves are traded sureptitiously behind locked doors. They are used to increase muscle mass which is the deciding factor in sports like sprinting, jumping and weight lifting which require intense, rapid contractions of short duration. They are viewed by many such athletes as simply a means to an end and the risk of being caught is just another challenge to be overcome. 5. There is a lot of confusion between the general term, steroids, and anabolic steroids, which are banned, and corticosteroids, which are OK for medical reasons. All steroids have similar structures and theiractivity depends on very subtle differences. Their natural production is controlled by the pituitary gland and artificial supplementation by either natural or man-made steroids inhibits the pituitary. 6. A waterbottle which Johnson drank from while waiting in doping control had been left unattended for some time and although it was supposed to be in a .secure area, the IOC admits that many unauthorized people may have had ready access to this bottle. The Johnson camp has alleged that the bottle was switched.î 7. Dr. Astaphan is either a prime suspect or he rubbed a lot of people the wrong way - certainly there are lots who want to 'finger'him but they offer little solid information. Given these facts, the case against Ben Johnson is far from proven. Although unlikely, the bottle theory remains open. Also, if (as Astaphan said in Barbara Frum's interview on Thursday's National) corticosteroids will produce the same depression of testosterone as anabolic steroids do, then the IOC argument of prolonged use falls apart. In a court of law Johnson would be considered innocent until proven guilty. In the court of sport, he was tried, convicted and given life all within twenty-four hours. The most obvious argument in Johnson's favour is there appears to be no rational reason for him or any of his entou- DRYDEN PUBLIC SCHOOL, CORNER of COLUMBUS & TIIICKSON RDS, C. 1883 rage t take such a tremendous risk. The stories that swirene er f nr nOni around Astaphan don't ring true. If he's the expert that he'sMiieroAgiutrfrm19te90.hesooclednth19'sndsno a reputed te be, he would not have used a commonly available,prvtreiec.Abckncorewsuitrudtefotdorn185 easily detected steroid like stanozolol. If even 10% of trackWhtyAciepoo athletes use steroids, only a tiny portion get caught. This was either an incredibly botched job or, indeed, sabotage. 1 ER G Anabolic steroids were originally banned because they fo h ensaOtbr4 98eiino h provided an artificial competitive edge but sports' federationsWHTYFE PRS now rationalize the ban because they're unhealthy.*DytnTrwokrhaeet edttbijbsaeraw-eksrke Ail sport at the international level is unhea8-crlthngy!rek Prkisnetin cmookon at ail the taped up ankles and knees and wrists - the human *Asre sbigudrae osei ins etei eddi hty body was not designed for such a beating. Many of these Olympic athletes will suifer for the rest of their lives.25Y M AG And what about those that already have rebuilt muscles,fomteTusacobr3193dionoth bones and tendons of plastic and steel. What are the limits of WIJ~ EIJYNW medical intervention? Is such surgery any different from *CuclosPu ot n emn emnadfre euyreeWre oa drugs? Does bionics not create the samne sort of competitive aernigfrmyri h uiia lcin advantage astods FrdWJoewaprsnewtha5yerVta'suiieMdlbteCmoie Perhaps in a world that demands superlative perfor- Lodge No. 30 AF and AM. mances and in which new drugs and doping techniques will The Town Council and Industrial Commission have met to discuss the establishment of always be three jumps ahead of the testing technology, the Lake Ontario Steel Company in Whitby Township. outright ban on such drugs needs reconsideration. Ultimately The history of the Whitby branch of the Victerian Order of Nurse was presented at a the only way to control doping will be to quarantine athletes meeting of the Womens Institute. for weeks before events and subject them to such a battery of tests that the best athletes (the ones who attract the most suspicion) will simply walk away from amateur sport. from the Friday, October 5, 1888 edition of the Canada should have the fullest, the openest, the broadest WHITBY CHRONICLE enquiry that it can possibly muster. It should seek testimony A 12-year old boy was scalded to death when the boler at the electric igt plant exploded. from coaches, athletes, doctors, and pharmacologists from The editer of the Chronicle says be will enter the municipal election as a candidate if the around the world - anyone who is willing to talk. We should do it, not to soothe our own hurt pride or for The Chronicle is filed with the names of prize winners at the Ontario and Durham Ben Johnson's medal but for the welfare and peace of mind of Exhibition held at Whitby October lst to 3rd. athlteseveywhre.We houd doit or he orl an weTwo store windows in downtown Whitby were broken by d runks on twvo successive nights. athletes everywhere. We should do it for the world and we should doit TiehTownCouncil__andIndustrialCommission__ havemettodiscuss__theestablishmentof -1