Craig Green
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« Reply #2 on: January 18, 2008, 10:59:08 am » |
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That's a good point about amateurs using performance drugs. I'm not a gym rat, but I know some people who are, and some of them take steroids. These guys are all heavy lifters. The drugs are readily available in certain circles. Like I said, these are gym rat types looking to get big, so I don't know how this transfers over to the local running community.
I have often wondered how many semi-competitive runners that I've been up against in a race are using substances to enhance performance. I'm certainly not elite, but I'll place in the top 10 for a given local race. Take the Provo 1/2 Marathon, for example. I don't think the other runners in the top 10 or 20 are taking substances (most of them are on this blog), but who knows? What if 1 or 2 of them are? Ultimately, with local races where no money is involved, I don't think the motivation would be there to risk your long-term health for the sake of short-term pride.
That reminds me- back in 2003/2004, I used to sit next to Terry Montgomery at my work. He is the cousin of Tim Montgomery, who was the 100-meter world record holder for a time until his records recently got stripped due to the drug scandal. Additionally, Tim Montgomery was the boyfriend of Marion Jones at that time. Anyway, I used to hear nothing but excuses for his behavior- "The media... the racism... blah blah blah". In fact, when he crashed at the Olympic Trials in Sacramento before Athens, he went on a tirade against the media- saying it was their fault for his failure (at that time they were reporting on his alleged drug use). Now- what does he have?
From wikipedia:
On 13 December 2005, the CAS found Montgomery guilty and imposed a two year ban. On top of the ban, all of Montgomery's results and awards since 31 March 2001, including his former world record, had also been stripped. After the ban was announced, Montgomery announced his retirement.
In April 2006, Montgomery was indicted and arrested on fraud charges for his alleged involvement in a money laundering scheme. He is accused of depositing three bogus checks totaling $775,000. Montgomery allegedly received $20,000 for his participation. Montgomery plead guilty to the charges on April 9, 2007. He is due to be sentenced in November, and is expected to serve up to 46 months in prison.
When it rains, it pours.
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