Doping and sports - 1995

1995

The use of steroids also spread among women, even at university level in basketball, volleyball, football, hockey, swimming, gymnastics, lacrosse and softball.

As youngest athlete ever, a 14-year-old South African long jumper tested positive for anabolics.

In the 1980s and 1990s around the world there were numerous doping scandals involving female athletes, which showed that there was little or no difference in the doping prevalence between the sexes at elite level.

The Swedish customs authorities reported the confiscation of 232,000 tablets of anabolic steroids the year before, mostly from Eastern European countries, but also from Spain and Portugal, where they could be obtained without a prescription.

American sports physician Bob Goldman asked two hundred random athletes if they were prepared to take an undetectable performance-enhancing drug that guaranteed them victories for five years. 195 answered whole-heartedly yes. Even more shocking was the fact that half of them answered also 'yes' if they would know they would inevitably die five years later.

American Football

Shawn King (1972-), defender at the Carolina Panthers in the American National Football League, tested positive for marijuana during a training camp. When that happened again after the thirteenth game, he was not allowed to play in the first six games of the 1997 season. But the same year he was caught a third time, so in 1998 he was banned for the whole season.

In 1999 he signed a six million dollar contract with the Indianapolis Colts, after nine games he and teammate Tito Wooten (1971-) (photo) were suspended for four matches. Even if this time because it was because he appeared too late for the matches. Afterwards he was suspended for 12 months due to drug use, which meant he could forget the 2000 season. After the Colts threw him out, he announced his retirement because he felt that the NFL drug policy was unacceptable. After four seasons, however, he returned and signed for Tampa Bay Storm. Due to all his suspensions, he had missed a total of 42 games.

Baseball

Just like in professional football, the length and strength of professional baseball players have increased significantly over the last fifteen years. Presumptions about the use of anabolic steroids also cease. Randy Smith (1963-), General Manager of the San Diego Padres, stated this.

"We all know that steroids are used and it is becoming more common."

Smith estimated that 10 to 20% of the players were in trouble, while an anonymous General Manager from the American League stated:

"I would not be surprised if it was closer to 30%".

Others taught it to be as high as 40%, while the use in power hitters was estimated at 90%.

Kevin Towers (1961-), General Manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks and in the past himself a player for seven years, suspected that in baseball the use of anabolic steroids was higher than the consumption of alcohol, tobacco or other drugs, but that most thought:

"As long as nobody dies we should not worry about it".

Darryl Strawberry (1962-) was not only known for his sporty achievements as American Major League Baseball outfielder, but also for his controversial behavior. In 1995 he was suspended for cocaine use.

Dwight Gooden (1964-), nicknamed 'Doc Gooden' or 'Dr K', used cocaine and was suspended for sixty days. During that suspension he was caught again and excluded for the entire season. The day after the suspension notice fell in his mailbox, his wife Monica found him in their bedroom with a loaded pistol. In February 2002 he was arrested for driving under influence without a valid driver's license and with an open bottle of alcohol on the seat next to him. In January 2003 he was imprisoned again because of driving without a license and in March 2005 because he had trashed his girlfriend. Five months later he had to hand in his driving license during a road check, but he refused to get out of his car and suddenly he rushed away. The policeman reported that he had red, glassy eyes, that he spoke in a sharp voice, and smelled strongly of alcohol. He reported to the police station three days later. In March 2006 he was arrested again after he checked in with his probation officer while high on cocaine. He was sent to prison for seven months. In March 2010, Gooden committed a hit and run crime after a car accident. The tests afterwards showed that he was heavily influenced by an unknown substance, but even more compromising was that there was a child in his car.

Boxing

Italian Gianfranco Rosi (1957-) won the world championship title on points at the half heavy weights of American Verno Philips (1969-), but because the doping control subsequently demonstrated the use of forbidden products, Philips was given the title.

Cricket

Stephen Fleming (1973-), captain of the New Zealand cricket team, was caught in his hotel while smoking marijuana with his teammates Matthew Hart (1972-) and Dion Nash (1971-). Nash and Hart were suspended, Fleming received a warning.

Cycling

The blood test of Italian cyclist Marco Pantani (1970-2004), after the Milan-Turin race gave a hematocrit value of 60.1%, or 20% more then normal.

German rider Jan Bratkowski (1975-) tested positive on anabolics after the sixth stage of the Sachsen tour, for which he received six months of suspension.

During the Grenoble six days German track cyclist Carsten Wolf (1964-) was caught using illegal drugs, for which he was suspended for six months. In 1999 he was caught again which gave him a lifelong suspension.

Football

The German football association suspended Vfl Bochum player Roland Wohlfahrt (1963-) for two months, because norefedrine had been found after a futsal match. The player himself was astomished, but after inspection it turned out that the appetite suppressant Recatol, which he swallowed for obesity, contained the prohibited substance.

Fabien Barthez (1971-), goalkeeper of AS Monaco and of the French national team, tested positive for cannabis. He was already the fifth player in the French professional football to be caught on that product so early in the season. The French newspaper l'Équipe immediately devoted a complete article to it, but also looked at the use of other performance-enhancing products. In that article, Professor Jean-Pierre Lafarge (1949-), head of the French anti-doping lab stated:

"I know teams that are systematically doped, and so far a few things have been found, but the French Football Association is currently the only judge and thus does what it wants.The now known cases have leaked out by pure indiscretion.
Caught players that were not being prosecuted by the union, suddenly transferred abroad for a short time."

Chris Armstrong (1971-) tested positive for cannabis, making him the first footballer from the English premier league to be caught on that product. In July 2016, Armstrong was arrested for possession of cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy.

British football player Jamie Hughes (1977-), of Trammere Rovers, tested positive for amphetamines and was suspended for six months.

Ice hockey

After traces of amphetamine were found in his urine, Swedish ice hockey player Daniel Jardemyr (1971-) was suspended for two years.

Rugby

Newzealander Syd Eru (1971-) played professional rugby at Auckland Warriors and was also selected for the national team. After a match with the national team, he tested positive for ephedrine, for which he received a two-year suspension. For him reason enough to end his sports career.

Tennis

Russian tennis coach Igor Zernyšov was arrested in Atlanta with 200,000 tablets and 400 ampoules of steroids, which he wanted to sell to an anonymous buyer for 1,400 Dollars. It earned him six months in prison ..

Track and Field

After a positive pee, American shot putter Gregg Tafralis (1958-) had to hand over the silver medal he had won at the Pan American Games in Mar del Plata. He also received a two-year suspension. After he tested positive for Metandienon in 1999, he was suspended for life.

During a doping test at the 1995 World Cup in Gothenburg, traces of Metandienon were found in the Russian discus thrower Dmitriy Shevchenko (1968-), after which he received a suspension of two years.

Hungarian hammer thrower Tibor Gécsek (1964-) tested positive during a check in Berlin and was suspended for four years.