The Needle and the Damage Done

No, this is not about a Neil Young song though the lyrics from the song do apply somewhat.  The line “A little part of it in everyone” resonates with all of us who run and compete.  Maybe you haven’t used performance enhancing drugs (PED’s) as part of your training regiment, maybe you have.  Either way I don’t care; that’s your decision.  Maybe you have been exposed to those athletes that use and you are walking that tight rope that divides indulging in PED use and staying “clean”.  

The Needle

The catalyst for this article was the announcement Shelby Houlihan received a four-year ban for a failed drug test.  There is evidence to support Shelby did not inject a PED, but the first image in anyone’s mind is a needle.  Shelby Houlihan’s ban only serves to inject more venom into a sport that suffers from some serious credibility issues.  Sadly, the accusation sticks, and she will have to carry this burden forever.  Guilt or innocence seems to be irrelevant. 

Yesterday as I did some research for this article I read a fantastic article from June 15, 2021, on LetsRun.com.  The article is written by Jonathan Gault and his piece does a fantastic job of presenting both sides of the issue; she did it or she did not do it and does it even matter?  I share this with you simply to underscore the uncertainty that comes along with drug testing.  As my father would say, “There are 3 sides to every story”.  We will probably never know exactly what transpired in total, but does it matter?

The Damage Done

So, Shelby Houlihan gets for four-year doping ban for testing positive for nandrolone.  Ok, now what?  Her credibility gets called into question…was she using this before?  Does she use nandrolone regularly with the ready explanation that she consumed the substance without her knowledge.  Only she knows.  Again, does it even matter?

In the court of public perception, the damage is done, and sadly the damage was done long before Shelby was even born.  I have been involved with running and track and field since the early ‘70’s and the sport has endured PED accusations for as long as I can remember.  Though truth told, the swirl was reserved for the weight event athletes.  Fans of track and field have endured suspicions of PED use being part of national athletic programs and individual training programs.  From the Russians and East Germans to Lasse Viren’s blood-doping to Flojo and Carl Lewis here at home, an eyebrow is raised anytime any single athlete or nation becomes so dominate. 

A real concern is the sport of track and field has had and currently has real credibility issues and these issues are certainly not news.  These positive tests only fuel the doubters.  We see an athlete work hard and getter stronger and faster and some people’s first thought is, “oh they’re on the juice” (too ‘80’s for you?).  We are so quick to find ways to rationalize why we aren’t at their level.  It’s not because we don’t put in the work, oh no, it’s because they take performance enhancing drugs (PED’s) and we don’t.  

As spectators and “amateur” athletes, we applaud enhancing performance.  We draw the line at drugs.  Up to the drug use, we are simply hard workers, committed to our sport.  Once we introduce PED’s we are cheaters. Cheaters gain an “unfair advantage” over those that do not cheat, and we don’t like that.  We say things like “they don’t play fair”, but what is fair in sport, and do we really care if athletes play fair?

The End of Innocence 

Where did we go off the rails here?  Where did we lose our innocence?  Where did we surrender to cheating?  When did our desire to attain goals in track and field on the world stage overtake reason?

So why are we so concerned about PED’s in sport? Do they give an athlete an unfair advantage?  Maybe.  But there is no control user to know if a PED has a positive effect on the user.  Maybe PED’s should be totally unrestricted and allow athletes to proceed at their own peril.  Many articles talk to this very idea.  

Super spikes, are they fair?  When technology improves performance is that fair? Is the playing field out of balance?  Some runners have physical therapists and massage therapists and psychologists, meal plans, on and on.  Is it fair that some athletes cannot afford these performance enhancers?

Where did we go off the rails here?  Where did we lose our innocence?  Where did we surrender to cheating?  When did our desire to attain goals in track and field on the world stage overtake reason?

Running is the simplest of all sports.  I’ll go so far to say running is the purest of all sports.  To run all I need is a pair of shorts and a pair of shoes and in some cases I don’t even need the shoes.  I can run on the beach, or I can run on the grass, and I don’t need shoes at all, I just run.  There’s nothing special about being a runner; it’s free; it’s open; it’s unencumbered.

When I started running and equally when I started racing, all I wanted to do was get better every week.  I had no goals or aspirations to become a professional.  Frankly, there was no such thing as a “professional runner”.   As I got into high school, I was running to get a scholarship at a university so I could continue to compete at the next level.  Simple, pure.  The reward was putting in the work and finding how fast I could run.  That was its own reward.  

As an alum of Arizona State University, I love Shelby Houlihan.  Though Selby is originally from Iowa, as an ASU Sun Devil, she is our girl.  We have loved watching her take on the world.  She races with grit and determination, and we are proud of her.  We do wish her well through this.  She’s tough and she will persevere. 

Please allow me to leave you with this anecdote.  1972 Olympic marathon gold medalist Frank Shorter would fill his aid-station bottles with flat Coca-Cola.  A PED?  Let’s throw it to the court of public opinion!

The following articles were referenced for this blog post:

Bachman, R. (2014, December 9). The Athletes Who Train With Soda. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-athletes-who-train-with-soda-1418152993. 

Gault, J. (2021, June 15). Column: Shelby Houlihan’s Suspension Is a Track & Field Tragedy. LetsRun.com. https://www.letsrun.com/news/2021/06/shelby-houlihans-suspension-is-a-track-field-tragedy/. 

David van Mill Associate Professor in Political Science and International Relations. (2018, September 11). Why are we so opposed to performance-enhancing drugs in sport? The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/why-are-we-so-opposed-to-performance-enhancing-drugs-in-sport-46528.