Russia has been in the news lately due to performance-enhancing drugs giving their athletes a winning edge.
We should not be too smug and think that our athletes do not look for a winning edge as well. I first set foot in the gym in 1981 and haven’t left. At that time, it was common to see guys giving and taking injections in the locker room. No one seemed too excited and it wasn’t a big deal. However, it was a powerlifting gym where the entire focus is on building strength and power.
Today, it’s not like that in most gyms. You still see plenty of guys on the juice, but talking about it in the gym is not OK. Back then, it was easy and cheap to buy stuff. Today, it’s still easy, but no longer cheap.
In my opinion, athletes are always looking for a winning edge, then and now. It’s a game of cat and mouse in that for every new test for detection, you have a new substance for which the test has not been invented yet.
The decision to use or not use drugs is up to you.
George Noriega
Penticton