Doping and sports - 2000

2000

In the United States a transdermal testosterone gel came to market.

At the beginning of the 2000s there was plenty of talk of a new form of doping, the genetic manipulation.

The urine tests for detecting EPO were improved, but blood doping was still undetectable. The potential risks of blood doping are great: blood clots, strokes and thrombosis.

The 'Deutsche Zeitschrift für Sportmedizin' (German journal for sports medicine published a Finnish study between 1977 and 1982, examining the life expectancy of 62 Finnish weightlifters. 12.9% of the musclemen had already died compared with 3.1% in 'normal' people.

Doping in the GDR

Lothar Kipke (1928-) was sports physician in the GDR and author of the State Plant Theme 14.25. In 2000 he was sentenced to 15 months prison and a fine of 7,500 Deutsche Mark (= 3,250 Euro), the most severe punishment pronounced in the GDR doping affair.

'State plant theme 14.25' was the name of an extensive, organized and compulsory doping system. Its implementation was approved in June 1974 by the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands - SED) and was based on the proposal of the GDR's Power Sports Commission (Leistungssportkommission). Several institutions were obligated to participate: the Research Institute for Physical Culture and Sport ("Forschungsinstitut für Körperkultur und Sport") in Leipzig, the Central Institute of Microbiology and Experimental Therapy (Zentralinstitut für Mikrobiologie und experimentelle Therapie) in Jena, the Military Medical Academy Bad Saarow in the field of research (Militärmedizinische Akademie Bad Saarow im Bereich der Forschung) as well as the pharmaceutical companies "VEB Jenapharm" and the Pharmaceutical Plant Dresden ("Arzneimittelwerk Dresden") as the manufacturers of the preparations used.

Mainly, anabolics such as Oral-Turinabol, Androstendion and Mestanolone were used, three substances that were developed in the GDR. Research after 1990 showed that more than four hundred doctors, trainers and officials were involved in the system. The number of affected underage athletes was estimated at about ten thousand, two thousand of them subsequently had serious illnesses, tumors, heart defects, infertility, depression, bulimia, circulation and spinal problems. Some had even died, others anxiously awaited in doubt about the health problems their children would be born with. During the 2000 doping process in Berlin, Kipke was sentenced to 15 months in prison for his part in the body damage of female athletes and a fine of 7,500 Mark. During his career he had prescribed anabolic steroids to 58 underage swimmers. The case was brought before the court by former DDR swimmers, who had to swallow doping daily during their sporting career. The underage girls did not know that the blue-colored pills were anabolics. Some of them later had health problems, others had children with physical abnormalities. A former GDR swimmer bore a son with clubfeet, another a blind child. During the GDR regime, Kipke was not only one of the sports physicians of the East German swimming team DSSV, he also worked for the state security service Stasi under the cover name 'Rolf'. In foreign countries he manifested himself as a fervent doping opponent. He even sat in the medical committee of the international swimming federation FINA. At the trial in Berlin he confessed the doping administration, but he immediately said that he did not know that the banned stimulants also gave negative side effects later in life. During a search in the Kipke garage, a complete file was found, which made the 'Doping-Fahrplan für die Nationalmannschaft' very clear. He had accurately kept track of whom he had provided, when and with what.

At the same trial, the top of the pyramid were also condemned, while top executive Manfred Ewald (1926-2002) and sports physician Manfred Höppner (1934-) received 22 and 18 months respectively. From 1961 to 1988, Ewald chaired the GDR Gymnastics and Sports Federation (DTSB), as well as President of the East German Olympic Committee. Höppner, for his part, was the "constructor" of the State-run doping scene. It was he who provided the preparations to doctors and trainers and for years he was deputy chairman of the Sports Medicine Service of the GDR (SMD) and chairman of the 'Arbeitsgruppe unterstützende Mittel'. Both were charged with 142 crimes, especially in women who had enormous health problems due to years of hormonal doping. Total masculinisation, gynecological problems, miscarriage, infertility, excessive body hair and voice changes were countless. The anabolics, especially Oral-Turinabol, also caused liver tumors and kidney damage. They were well aware of what they were doing and accepted the side effects. The most serious accusation, however, was that they had imposed the preparations on minors. In addition, the trainers had to keep quiet to the athletes and their parents. The parents were told again and again that their children were given extra vitamins. According to their sporting performances and according to their political integrity, the athletes were subdivided into an A, B or C category. For Ewald, all this had only one goal: to win as many medals as possible for the GDR and with 160 Olympic victories he succeeded perfectly. Under the motto 'the end justifies the means' he was willing to sacrifice the health of the children. Doping together with a hard training was a perfect combination and an unmistakable part of the successes. It is not for nothing that the training to become a sports doctor in the GDR lasted for five years, the entire support was based on centralized science. Ewald was conditionally convicted to 22 months in prison, Höppner received 18 months conditionally.

They were indicted by seven former East German athletes, including the swimmers Martina Gottschlat (1965-) and Jutta Gottschalk (1964-), Karin Balzer (1938-) (photo1), 80m hurdles Olympic champion in Tokyo and Margitta Pufe (1952- ) (photo 2), bronze medal in discus throwing at the Moscow Games.

But the forerunner was Catherine Menschner (1965-), who at that time had already worked for many years with her lawyers to get to the bottom of the doping use. The former East German swimmer was in illo tempore the guinea pig for the East German doping machine.

Her scientific results after the administration of the drugs, for example, had to help Rica Reinisch (1965-) in Olympic medals. Menscher realized that only when she had to train a lot and hard, had to swallow lots of pills, but was never selected for competitions. Clear signs on the wall that the GDR leaders had not planned a successful career for her, but that she was actually the guinea pig for other swimmers. She got serious health problems at the age of sixteen, she became paralyzed and suffered damage in the lumbar region. The doctors from Dresden tried to 'remedy' this with new injections, the only result of that new therapy was that her heart revolted, her bloodstream collapsed and she had no strength in her lungs. She regularly fainted, had severe respiratory disorders and she got a plaster around the loins. In fact, it meant that the East German 'scientists' did not know what to do anymore. Her stepfather, who belonged to the highest government circles herself, advised her to cut down with sport. When she moved to Hamburg after the fall of the wall, a CT scan after the umpteenth pneumonia showed that her lungs were far too large and that her immune system was defenseless against colds. In addition she got six miscarriages.

Four victims at a glance: Christiane Knacke (1962-), Carola Nitsche (1956-), Andrea Pollack (1961-) and Barbara Krause (1959-). Andrea Pollack died in March 2019 of the effects of cancer.

Christiane Knacke (1962-) shouted during her testimony before the Court:

"They destroyed both my body and my mind, they even poisoned my medal," on which she threw her bronze medal of Moscow on the ground.

Martina Gottschalt-Fehrecke (1965-) was another former GDR swimmer who filed a complaint against the former sports doctor Lothar Kipke (1928-). At the age of 10 she was selected by the system as a competition swimmer and went to the of Sportclub Magdeburg. The exhausting swim training started at 5.30 am, and only ended late at night. From the beginning she received tablets from trainer Gudrun Feustel, which were described as vitamins, minerals and proteins. And three times a day the same scenario: swim, quickly out off the water, swallow pills and back into the water.

"When I was thirteen they suddenly checked my medication intake much more severely, there were also more and other tablets on the scale, and I remember trying to cheat, but when the trainer got wind of it we had to take the pills while she watched."

Martina changed, she got heavier, her voice got deeper and she got menstrual problems. Her parents were suspicious, had questions about the medication and demanded an explanation, but received the answer that it was only vitamins. Meanwhile, they had also started using syringes and infusions. In 1981, Martina tore her ligaments and had an excuse to stop swimming. Some time later she got bile problems. She married and gave birth to a first son in 1985, who was born with clubfeet. Before his sixth birthday the boy was operated three times, but that did not help much. In the next three children, there were also complications at birth. Slowly she realized that all these problems were related to the anabolics use. She herself had hormonal problems after the birth and she got depressions.

Former GDR swimmer Jutta Gottschalk (1962-), who at the boarding school shared the room with Martina Gottschalt, filed a complaint against Lothar Kipke (1928-). Her daughter was born blind in one eye, for which she was operated eleven times and the anabolics would also be blamed of this. Gottschalk did not want a second child as long as it had not been proven that there would be no more complications.

Breast cancer was diagnosed with the former Berlin canoeist Kerstin Spiegelberg (1968-). Research showed that this tumor was the result of the many anabolics that she had been unknowingly administered by the GDR physicians and trainers from the age of thirteen. In addition, she struggled with migraines and depression and she had a miscarriage.

Jochen Neubauer (1952-), in the GDR period supervisor of swimming club ASK Potsdam, but in 2000 active as a sports physician in the Olympic Training Center of Postdam, was fired because he was guilty of administering doping to 13-year-old girls. He had to pay a fine of 9,000 Deutsche Mark (= 4,500 Euro).

In Thüringen, five sports physicians and a trainer were sentenced to fines of 2,500 Euro to 11,500 Euro and 35 doping cases were closed.

In Halle, swimming coach Bernd Henneberg (1945-) was fined 3,500 Euro.

After he confessed that he had administered doping to six-time Olympic medalist Kristin Otto (1966-) and eight other swimmers, the judge of Leipzig sentenced Stefan Hetzer (photo) to a fine of 15,000 Euro.

American football

For years, violence, murder, crime, theft, doping and drugs were part of American Football inside and outside the stadiums. Murder scandals involving stars from this sport regularly remind us that American Football is the deadliest sport on our planet. A few hours after the 34th Super Bowl finale in 2000 in Atlanta, 130 million Americans and a billion television viewers learned that Captain Ray Lewis (1975-) of the Baltimore Ravens had been arrested for a double homicide.

Lewis' arrest happened only a month after Rae Carruth (1974-) of the Carolina Panthers was sentenced to 24 years in prison for hiring a killer to kill his pregnant wife.

A 1999 publication "The NFL Criminals" stated that 21% of the players were involved in serious crimes, but further investigation showed that 509 of the 1,590 players, or 32%, were registered with the police. To insiders, all this was the result of massive drug use.

Baseball

Barry Bonds (1964-), one of the main players in the BALCO affair, tested positive for methenolone enanthate in 2000 and 2001, when he played with the San Francisco Giants.

Roger Clemens (1962-), who won the World Series in 2000 with the New York Yankees, was reportedly injected with nandrolone (Deca-Durabolin) by strength trainer Brian McNamee (1967) during that baseball season.

Basket

Turkish basketprofi Serkan Erdogan (1978-) of Royal Hali Gaziantep tested positive for nandrolone after the European Cup match against Greek Panathinaikos and was suspended for two years.

Bobsleigh

British bobsled Lenny Paul (1958-) delivered a positive pee on Nandrolone.

Cycling

A few hours before the start of the 2000 Tour de France, three riders tested positive for EPO and were banned from the Tour.

In an interview with the German newspaper 'Berliner Kurier', an anonymous rider admitted:

"Testosterone was a basic ingredient in our food, both as an injection and in pills, and at breakfast we already received ten grams of testosterone powder."

During an inspection at the French/Swiss border, the French customs caught Fabrice Julien (1965-) with two boxes of EPO. The Frenchman, who was vice-champion mountain bike in 1995, was suspended for three years and had to pay fifteen thousand French francs (= 2,250 Euro).

In interviews with 'Le Parisien' and 'Aujourd'hui' former amateur cyclist André Cordelette (1962-) explained his story. 38-year-old Frenchman had undergone a heart transplant four months before and now wanted to testify openly about his doping use, because he had experienced firsthand how deadly doping can be. Four years before, when he switched to the amateurs, he had started taking medication, such as the amphetamines derivatives Dynatel and Captagon, which were very easily available. Shortly thereafter an old professional cyclist injected him before the race in Amiens with the cortisone Kenacort. It gave him a euphoric feeling and felt no pain during exertion. Then he started injecting himself with liquid amphetamines, first subcutaneously, then intravenously. The result was that he always ended with the first five. Because the products were cheaper in Belgium, he was supplying himself there, but too late he realized he lost his health forever. In the meantime he had become addicted and even out of season he needed amphetamines. The first side effects quickly surfaced, he received a tachycardia attack, for which he had to be in observation for three months. At the second attack he got electrochocks and the only rescue was a heart transplant, causing him to spent a year in the hospital.

At a check in Perpignan, the French police surprised the riders Eric Martin (1966-) and Grégory Delfour (1965-) from Narbonne, when they injected themselves intravenously with the infamous Pot Belge at the edge of the road. The 'Affaire Perpignan' was a fact. Beside the Pot Belge, EPO use came to light as well as the sale of the corticoids Solucadron, Pantestone, Celestene and Finedal, which were sold via couriers to professional riders ans amateurs as well in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

The main culprits were the former pro riders Thierry Laurent (1966-), Jérome Laveur-Pedoux (1973-), Christophe Morel (1975-) and Eric Magnin (1967-). Together with two pharmacists and several physicians, they were charged with 'the use, the acquisition, the sale and the possession of doping products'. A total of 26 people were prosecuted including the French physician Hervé Stoicheff, who escorted the Crédit Agricole team and who, in a twist of irony, was also active in the Anti-Doping Center of the French Southwest. 25 of the 26 defendants were convicted, Thierry Laurent, Eric Magnin, Jérome Laveur-Pedoux and Christophe Morel were sentenced to fifteen months in prison, 14 of which conditionally. Two doctors had to pay 5,000 and 3,000 Euro. The other accused received conditional prison sentences of one to six months. Hervé Stoïcheff was acquitted for lack of evidence.

Dutchman Peter Winnen (1957-), who was active in the cycling platoon from 1980 to 1991, confessed in January 2000 in the Dutch TV program 'Reporter' that he had taken doping. About the Tour 1986 he said:

"I drove very badly and had the choice: returning home or taking testosterone."

Thanks to that choice, he reached Paris. During his sports career at Raleigh, Panasonic and Bückler, Winnen used testosterone, amphetamines and corticosteroids.

In March, Italian judge Franca Oliva published his report on the investigation into sports physicians, including that of Francesco Conconi (1935-). This official judicial investigation showed that Stephen Roche (1959-) (photo) was injected EPO in 1993 during his last year in the peloton. Moreover, a lot of aliases for Roche were found in the Conconi files: Rocchi, Rossi, Rocca, Roncati, Righi and Rossini.

Russian Eugeni Berzin (1970-) was not allowed to start in the Giro d'Italia because his hematocrit levels peaked above 50% as a result of EPO use.

Following the 'Festina affair' French ex-cyclist Maurice Moucheraud (1933-) recorded in the newspaper 'Libération':

"In our time it was just the same: Forty years ago the Festinaproces could have been carried out, albeit with different names and products."

Belgian physician Eric Ryckaert (1943-2001), who was called 'Dr Fiat Punto' - with a nod to his Italian colleague Michele Ferrari (1953) - had to report to the Belgian court in September for his involvement in the Festina scandal. He was sentenced to a fine of fifteen thousand euros, half of which was conditionally. Every year he delivered some one hundred twenty ampoules of EPO, but also growth hormones, which he received through pharmacist Kristiaan Vanderstichele (1950-2013) and his girlfriend Linda Baestlé (1952-). As a clerk at the Christian Health Services, Baestlé checked the prescriptions of pharmacists and went regularly to the Netherlands to get the products, smuggling for about three thousand euros over the border in the process. Both were conditionally sentenced to two and one year respectively. Rijckaert never allowed the riders to exceed 54% hematocrit value, but the team management demanded it. Together with journalist Hans Vandeweghe (1958-) Ryckaert published the book 'De Zaak Festina' (The Festina Case), with which he wanted to provoke a discussion about the doping use in cycling. In 2001 he died from lung cancer.

French sports physician Claire Condemine-Piron (1960-) supervised the Festina cycling team from January to October 1999. Recruited after the scandal of the year before, she later stated in an interview with the French newspaper 'Le Monde':

"When I took office I did not know anything about the cycling world. I thought I was dealing with athletes who were confronted with doping, but I soon realized that a large part of them were actually addicted. My job started in January 1999 and immediately I got the three team managers against me. Yvon Sanquer, Michel Gros and Juan Fernandez considered me a rival, because the sponsor had broken a taboo, without consulting them he had recruited a sports physician. The almighty role of the team managers is the biggest problem in cycling, after all, the riders are their willing victims. In that period I saw things that I never saw before. Young people who experienced severe panic attacks accompanied by chest pain."

Finally ten suspects were indicted by the French court in the entire Festina affair.

It all started when on July 8, 1998 a carload of performance-enhancing drugs was found in the car of the Belgian caretaker Willy Voet (1945-) during a check at the French-Belgian border. For 'complicity in the import, possession, sale, delivery, purchase of prohibited substances' he was sentenced to ten months conditionally and a fine of thirty thousand French Francs (= € 4,500).

Joel Chabiron (1950-2004), head of the logistics service at Festina, was sentenced to five months for 'import, smuggling and illegal transport of banned substances'.

Bruno Roussel (1956-) (photo - right), sports director at Festina, was condemned for a year and a fine of fifty thousand French francs (= 7.500 Euro) for 'managing, stimulating and facilitating doping use during the matches'. Richard Virenque (1969-) (photo - left), captain of the team, was charged with 'complicity in facilitating, encouraging the use and management of doping products', but was acquitted.

Eric Ryckaert (1943-2001), team physician at Festina was charged with the same reasons as Bruno Roussel, but did not have to appear in court for health reasons. He died the following month.

Christine Paranier (1962-) was convicted for 'delivering without prescription and the sale of toxic substances' and was fined 30,000 French francs (= 4,500 Euro). She was a pharmacist in Veynes (Hautes-Alpes), the home of Willy Voet, who got the forbidden products in her pharmacy.

Eric Paranier (1960-), husband of Christine, was fined ten thousand French Francs (= 1.500 Euro) for the 'sale of toxic substances'.

Jef D'Hont (1942-), another caretaker of the Festina team, was sentenced to nine months for 'administering and promoting the use of toxic substances'.

Jean Dalibot (1963-), who was also a caretaker at Festina, was sentenced for five months for violating anti-doping law.

Nicolas Terrados (1958-), another sports physician of the Spanish team, was sentenced to a fine of thirty thousand French Francs (= 4.500 Euro) for 'inciting and facilitating the use of drugs' and for' illegal import of toxic substances' and had to pay a fine of ten thousand French Francs (= 1,500 Euro) to customs.

Willy Voet, Bruno Roussel, Joël Chabiron and Jean-Marie Dalibot also had to pay a hundred and twenty thousand French francs (= 14.000 Euro) to the French customs.

During a hearing before the Court of the French town Lille, French cyclist Richard Virenque (1969) finally confessed the use of illegal drugs.

For the same tribunal former world champion Luc Leblanc (1966-) denounced the 'dictatorship' of the UCI.

"The UCI is only considering how it can get more money, instead of going into the fight against doping. We cyclists are the first victims, the UCI abuses us and treats us like sheep or dogs, only to earn more money. "

Luc Leblanc confessed that he had taken doping since 1994, the year in which he became world champion on the road. He also resorted to doping in the Tour de France and the Vuelta of 1994 and that of the years thereafter.

For the same Court, Laurent Brochard (1968-) also confessed that he had won the World title of 1997 in San Sebastian with 'the remnants of doping products', which he had taken a few days before the title fight.

To the question of Judge Daniel Delegove to specify which banned substances were involved, he received EPO and growth hormones as an answer.

Sports director Bruno Roussel (1956-) revealed during the process that he received a call from Charly Mottet (1962-) (photo), at that time sports director of the French national team:

"When Brochard tested positive, Charly Mottet called me with the message 'do not worry, ask a predated medical certificate from Doctor Fernando Jimenez Diaz'. The UCI gave me these elements of the procedure to be followed. The UCI's only concern was to save face."

All these confessions during this high-profile process elicited the reaction from judge Daniel Delegove:

"These are not cyclists, but cycling test tubes."

On November 1 the Court of Lille questioned Hein Verbruggen (1941-2017), the Dutch president of the UCI, :

"There is a small group of cheaters, there is also a much larger group of riders who are forced to follow, if not they feel disadvantaged, a third category does not take doping but uses admitted drugs and a fourth much smaller group does not take anything. If a doctor wants to, he can cheat before or after the race."

According to testimonies the conflict between Verbruggen and Roussel ended with the threat posed by the Dutchman:

"If I want to, I can ensure that all riders are positive."

The President of the Court also confronted Verbruggen with the gaps in UCI's doping policy:

"You have been spending money on tracing EPA since 1995. Now, five years later, the budget allocated is 1.8 million French francs, but little compared to the operating budget of the UCI in the same period, which is estimated at 250 million francs."

Furthermore, President Daniel Delegove also pointed to:

"Strange, how all those Dutch riders deceased in such a short time."

At the end of November, the French Court opened a doping case against US Postal, the team of the American Lance Armstrong (1971), suspected of "violating the law on the prevention of drug use, incitement to drug use and violation of the laws. of toxic substances during the last Tour de France '.

At the same time on the other side of the Atlantic, Greg Strock (1973-) (photo) and Erich Kaiter (1972-), two former teammates of Armstrong at the juniors, accused their former Danish trainer René Wenzel (1960-) of giving them doping years before. The systemic administration of cortisone, among others, had completely affected Strock's immune system. The former rider, at that time student of Medicine at the University of Indiana, stated in an interview that he had no reason not to believe that his former teammates had not undergone the same treatment. He also saw a direct relationship with Armstrong's disease:

"Medical studies have shown that there is a correlation with testicular cancer."

Kaiter was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and received the same injections with Stock daily.

Also in Ernie Lechuga (1976-) (photo), another promising cyclist in the same team, testicular cancer was discovered in 1998. David Francis (1971-) and Gerrick Latta (1972-), two other members of the US junior national cycling team, joined the accusations and testified that they had received injections which were described as 'safe vitamin preparations' just before the 2000 World Cup.

Professor Massimo Cartesegna was one of the witnesses in the 'fraud process' against Marco Pantani (1970-2004). He was surprised about the hematocrit value found at Pantani when he was brought in in shock in the hospital of Turin. The 60.1% found was not only far above the legal 50% limit, but also life-threatening. In addition, Pantani could have died of complications six days later when his value suddenly dropped 16%, but after a few hours everything normalized just as suddenly.

"It is uncomfortable to admit, but I suspect that when Pantani was in my hospital, he received EPO without my knowledge", Professor Cartasegna replied to Judge Luisa Del Bianco's question about the cause of those sudden changes.

He pointed to the team physicians Giovanni Grazzi and Gianni Mazzoni, both collaborators of Professor Francesco Conconi (1935-), who had always stayed with Pantani and could be responsible for normalizing the hematocrit value through new injections.

Football

Former Italian footballer Carlo Petrini (1948-2012) published in 2000 his autobiography 'Nel fango del dio pallone' (In the mud of the football god), in which he described his experiences from Italian football, with particular attention to the everyday doping perils. with amphetamines from the 60s and 70s. In 1967 Genoa trainer Giorgio Ghezzi (1930-1990) was the first to give him injections. First the trainer injected himself, the players were next. What made the case particularly dangerous was that he used the same needle for everyone. The result was enormous, all players got immense energy, but during the race, green drool ran out of their mouths and their tongues were so swollen that they barely fit in their mouths. Physicians and caregivers were involved, but a lot of players also injected themselves. Petrini was blinded by the effects of glaucoma and he was operated for a brain tumor, from which he died at the age of 64.

Chilean international Clarence Acuña (1975-) tested positive for Isoprenaline after the qualifying match for the World Cup against Peru. He was suspended for four months.

Dutchman Quido Lanzaat (1979-) played the German cup final with Borussia Mönchengladbach, but in the inspection after the game tetrahydrocannabinol, a derivative of cannabis, was discovered in his urine. He was suspended for eight weeks, in addition, the 2-3 final victory of his team was canceled and opponent SpVgg Greuther Fürth received the cup.

Ibrahim Tanko (1977-) the Ghanaian striker of Borussia Dortmund, got four months suspension and a fine of fifteen thousand Deutsche Mark, after he had been caught using cannabis.

Luge

Austrian Markus Kleinheinz (1976-) was suspended for two years for cannabis use. Afterwards he became national youth coach.

Motorsport

Professional Japanese motorcycle racer Noriyuki Haga (1975-) tested positive for the use of ephedrine and was suspended for two months.

Track and Field

A report by American physician Wade Exum (1949-) reported that nineteen American medal winners had participated in the Olympics between 1988 and 2000, despite being caught for doping. This shocked a lot of people from the sports world. For others it did not come as a surprise, because for years insiders had already suggested that the American athletes were not afraid to go for doping. The hypocrisy, however, was that the Americans openly denounced doping and that they attacked the sports regimes of East Germany and China for their systematic doping practices.

"There is no promise whatsoever that they want to stop doping," Carl Lewis (1961) pontificated in 2000. "People know that sport is polluted, sport is so driven by records."

But Lewis didn't know that he would be mentioned in Exum's report. The five-time Olympic medalist was one of the athletes named in the more than thirty-thousand-page file that the former American anti-doping chef delivered to Sports Illustrated and various other newspapers in 2003. More than a hundred American athletes from different sports tested positive for banned products, but were acquitted after 'internal processes'. According to Exum's evidence, Lewis was one of three Olympic winners who tested positive to prohibited stimulants in the months preceeding the Seoul Olympics.

The Sydney Olympics were called the 'Dirty Games'. American Professor of Pharmacology Don Catlin (1938-), director of one of the drug-testing laboratories of the IOC, said in that respect:

"In sports, probably many more drugs are used than one would think. The general public would be shocked, if they know everything."

Frank Shorter (1947-), 1972 Olympic marathon champion and chairman of the US Anti-Doping Agency, not only acknowledged the extent of the use of doping, but also realized that its consequences went far beyond the Olympics alone.

Triathlon

During a search in his house growth hormones, corticoids and EPO were found at French triathlete Mathias Mure (1978-).