The sad part is it doesnt surprise me in the least. What does surprise me is took this long for someone to test positive. The following comments are from a sociologist that does not make his living in any sport so take them for what they're worth.

The focus of sports has changed all over the world. There was a time when sports was about working hard then going out and testing yourself against others. You congratulated those that wokred harder and won. Between events athletes gave hard effort in training in hopes of winning.

Those that knew they didnt have a chance of first place competed for the joy. It wasnt about place or ranking, it was about beating the mental side of it. They competed against themselves. What others did really wasnt improtant.

Society has changed. The emphasis in life is no longer about who you are. Its about what you accomplish or gain in life. 40 years ago raising 2 well adjusted kids was considered a success for a family. Today you need to have material gains to prove acceptance. if you cant or choose not to society gives you a label, one thats less than the label they would give themselves.

Peer pressure to keep up with the Jones' and not be labeled as a less than forces all of us to look for ways to achieve something that we wouldn't have before. Stealing and cheating is the easiest methods to do that. Its not about the money. Its about how you're percieved in socety that makes people do what they choose to do.

I'm saddened by Nina, assuming the reports are true. Not because she chose this path in life. Rather because it provides others the excuse they needed to follow suit. The solution to this problem isnt more testing. The solution lies within the education everyone is getting on a daily basis. Until we re-educate society teaching what is important in life the problems we see will continue to grow, both inthe sport and in other areas of our life.

Probably not the dissertation you expected Tribro, but it is how I interpret what I see today. I was at a high school state cross country meet last weekend. I could not believe the number of kids, anyone still in hs is still a kid, that were using some form of performance enhancer. It made me sick and angry to a level I havent reached in a long time. Not because the kids were doing it but becaus the adults invovled are allowing it to happen. If I could identify those using enhancers in one day I know those invovled are aware. Unfortunately it comes back to the same problem. What you atain in life is of greater importance. :mad:

Wow, that's too bad. It is interesting that it's taken as long as it has to reach the world of triathlon.

To be honest, I am intrigued by the notion that one needs drugs, or any kind of enhancers to compete. On one level you have the moral issue. On the other you have this strange, borg-like momentum towards a society where everything we do is 'enhanced', 'augmented', 'improved'. Considering advances toward something benign like communication, from drums to telegraph to cell phones, how long before we've got some kind of com-implant? It's a similar kind of progression.

The apparent need that if we're to be competitive we need to use product X, because so-and-so is using product-W, naturally leads the next person to be faced with a decision to use or not use product-Y. This is not a justification for drug use, but more of a reminder that we need to be mindful of what's driving us. Motivation to excel needs to be intrinsic, the pyschology of the athlete needs to be one of self-improvement. Starting from the inside and going outward. If you're driven by external forces, you will end up in a confused, or in the case of Nina, a disqualified state of being.

We're at a point where we need to take a conscious stand for the future of things we take for granted. Personal space, natural foods, the right to be in an advertisement free zone, the right to be exactly who you are -- enhancement-free. We need to be ok with the idea that some people have strengths that we don't have, and rather than try to force ourselves into some kind of mold thru the use of drugs, we need to discover what those strengths are. We need a place, and a society that supports those kinds of explorations, not ones that tell us that we need this product, or that we need to use this drug to be all we can be. We have all the tools we need at our disposal.

And to conclude, in the words of a former sports pychology professor, "Our brain is the best pharmacy we have"

Take care,

"just say no" :)

I totally agree with mike. Moreover you have coaches and parents out there wishing to have their pupils/children get a college scholarship doesn’t matter at what cost. If performance enhancers help to reach the coaches’/parents’ goal they will provide it to the kids. Then when time comes and these boys/girls face their own lives they have the option of not playing fair because that is the way it was taught by their mentors.
The problem lies in our side. Let’s keep our children and our sport free of drugs.

Very disappointing, but I guess it was only a matter of time. Perhaps I was naive to believe the sport of triathlon was pure and above all the other sports where doping was a common trait. With pro cycling and all of it's problems over the last few years and then again recently with the accusations against Tyler Hamilton, you'd think "our" athletes would recognize the moral and ethical issues associated with performance enhancement.

We have all been on long training rides or runs, and in tough races where we suffered and didn't have good days. But how many of us thought, hey when I get home I'm going to take something to make me better. No!! I think of ways to improve my training or diet. Maybe log on to trifuel, but never taking something like EPO.

Of course we are just age groupers trying to just finish ahead of our training partners in the next race so we have bragging rights for the next group run. Perhaps the pressure to compete against the world's best is just too great.

I was in Australia this summer right before the olympics when there was a big stink about a couple of their cyclists being involved in doping. I figured it was only a matter of time before it crossed over.

It's a bit of a downer to think about this kind of stuff. I can remember back to my first race looking around at everybody thinking how awesome it was that everyone had gotten their on their own training and their own will to compete. It really is unfortunate that people can feel the need to corrupt so pure a competition.

Matt