And the banned played on

Dean Juipe

Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2000 | 10:08 a.m.

It has been 10 years since Dr. Robert Voy of Las Vegas wrote a book detailing the rampant use of performance-enhancing drugs by the world's leading athletes and his frustration with testing and enforcement procedures.

In light of recent headlines in the nation's press -- "Drugs Taint Games" has been used more than once this week -- Voy can only shake his head in dismay at the reports emerging from the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

"We've talked about this in the past, haven't we?" Voy said Tuesday in a rhetorical introduction to the ongoing problem. "Nothing has changed."

At least six Olympic athletes have tested positive in Sydney for banned substances, and one, gold-medal gymnast Andreea Raducan of Romania, has been stripped of her medal. A seventh athlete, shot putter C.J. Hunter of the United States, has drawn widespread publicity for four positive tests although he is not competing in Sydney. He is, however, the husband of sprinter Marion Jones, a focal point of the Games as she pursues a record five gold medals.

Voy, the deputy chairman of the U.S. Olympic Medical Committee and a widely recognized authority on performance-enhancing drugs and testing, does not believe a solution to the drug problem is on the horizon. In fact, the only immediate remedy he sees is one some may say is too whimsical to be implemented.

"This is kind of a facetious remark, but unless the international community decides to solve this problem the best course of action may be to have two Olympics," he said. "One of them would be controlled and have complete testing, and in the other one anything goes.

"I don't know how else to approach it."

Actually, he does know how to approach it but he doesn't see the international community rushing to respond.

"Unless there is a completely independent testing process, (abuses) aren't going to stop," he said. "I hesitate to rely on a cliche that I've used so many times, but having the fox guard the henhouse just doesn't work."

Beyond the flawed testing practices being used in Sydney -- one banned substance, hGH (human growth hormones), for instance, currently cannot be detected -- Voy is not optimistic that either of two new drug-detecting agencies will alleviate the current problems.

The International Olympic Committee has formed one of the new testing bureaus, the World Anti-Doping Agency. The United States Olympic Committee has formed the other, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which will debut Oct. 2.

Both promise year-round, no-notice, random testing.

"No, they're not going to work because they're not independent," Voy said, when asked if the new agencies will have a positive impact. "W.A.D.A. is IOC controlled and is not really empowered to do out-of-competition testing, plus it's not empowered to apply the necessary sanctions.

"Same thing with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency."

The latter agency will take the place of sport-specific governing bodies, such as USA Track & Field, when it comes to testing American athletes.

Presently, there are six types of performance-enhancing drugs banned at the Olympic level: stimulants, which can increase alertness; beta-blockers, which can settle nerves; anabolic steroids and related substances, which can reduce fatigue, build muscle mass and increase aggressiveness; diuretics, which can help purge or mask other drugs in an athlete's system; Eurthro-poietin, which can improve endurance; and hGH, which can help build muscle mass and decrease body fat.

Raducan, 16, tested positive for pseudoephedrine, a stimulant and a substance found in cold medication. It can be found in a common cold remedy, Sudafed.

Hunter, 31, the 1999 world champion in the shot put, tested positive for Nandrolone, an out-of-competition steroid that allows the athlete to work longer and harder and then quickly recover from those workouts.

A similar drug, androstenedione, was used by baseball player Mark McGwire during his record-setting 70 home-run season in 1998. Androstenedione is illegal at the Olympic level and McGwire has since quit taking it, although it is still permitted by Major League Baseball.

Similarly, some substances banned by the IOC are permitted at the National Collegiate Athletic Association level, a situation which can result in an athlete -- such as U.S. swimmer Angel Myers -- being banned at an Olympics but permitted to swim in NCAA-sanctioned events.

"Many of us have tried to tell the IOC and USOC that they need to do a better job, but no one seems to be listening," Voy said. "The use of performance-enhancing drugs has not changed in the 10 years since my book came out and the six years before that when I was with USOC.

"But if the Olympics in Sydney are tainted, as many people now say they are, I can't blame the athletes. I actually can sympathize with them. Unless performance-enhancing drugs are controlled, athletes are going to use them and feel they need to use them in order to compete. I can't say I blame them."

Vague as it may seem, Voy is looking for some independent agency to take control of the situation.

"I would hate to see governments get involved, but there has to be a body somewhere that has the interest and would commit the funds to tackle this problem," he said. When the United Nations was suggested as a possible intermediary, Voy thought about it for a moment.

"Perhaps," he said. "Or maybe we should just quit (having Olympics and/ or testing for them)."