US Olympic Committee Covered Up Drug Tests
TSN.ca Staff
4/16/2003
An investigation has revealed that former American sprinter Carl Lewis was allowed to compete at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea despite having tested positive for three banned substances at the U.S. Olympic trials.
The Orange County Register says it has uncovered more than 100 cases showing the United States Olympic Committee and American sports federations allowed athletes to compete in the Olympics and other world class events from 1988 to 2000 despite positive drug tests.
Among the cases cited is one involving Lewis, who along with teammates Joe DeLoach and hurdler Andre Phillips, tested positive for banned stimulants at the U.S. Olympic trials two months before the Summer Olympics in 1988.
Lewis' attorney, Martin D. Singer, confirmed Lewis had been telephoned by the USOC told that he had tested positive for pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and phenlypropanolamine. According to Singer, Lewis had no idea how the drugs got into his system.
Lewis did recall taking an herbal supplement which he bought over the counter but failed to disclose its use on a post-competition drug testing form during the trials.
On August 28, 1988, Lewis received a letter from the USOC which said his "appeal" was being treated as a "warning rather than a suspension".
USOC officials excused all three and, in DeLoach's case, he received a handwritten note wishing him well at the Olympics attached to the same form telling him he had failed a urine test.
"It sounds like they determined they were going to be accidental even before they notify the guy," said former IOC vice president Richard Pound, now the director of the World Anti-Doping Agency. "It looks like there was an almost automatic forgiveness for some of these athletes."
Lewis was eventually awarded the gold medal in the 100 metre final after Canadian rival Ben Johnson tested positive for a banned substance.
Aside from that victory, Lewis also won three other gold medals in 1988. DeLoach won gold in the 200 metres while Phillips upset two-time Olympic champion Edwin Moses to win the 400 metre event.
Documents show that 12 athletes from six sports received letters in 1988 from the USOC saying they got off with a warning because of "inadvertent use", a decision that Pound called "complete nonsense".
"The offense is the presence of a banned substance in your system," said Pound. "Now if Nazi frogmen abducted you and injected you against your will, then you might have a case."
A spokesperson for the U.S. Olympic Committee denied claims that they mishandled drug cases involving American athletes.
"There is no evidence the USOC ever suppressed or concealed the results of drug tests," Darryl Seibel tells the Register.
An internal audit of the USOC in 1998 criticized the governing body for developing an "emotional attachment" to its young stars, leading to a reluctance to penalize them for doping infractions.
In 2000, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency was created to oversee testing and sanctions, taking it out of the hands of the USOC.
I knew it. Those American cheats. Give Johnson his gold medal back. I always hated Lewis!!
TSN.ca Staff
4/16/2003
An investigation has revealed that former American sprinter Carl Lewis was allowed to compete at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea despite having tested positive for three banned substances at the U.S. Olympic trials.
The Orange County Register says it has uncovered more than 100 cases showing the United States Olympic Committee and American sports federations allowed athletes to compete in the Olympics and other world class events from 1988 to 2000 despite positive drug tests.
Among the cases cited is one involving Lewis, who along with teammates Joe DeLoach and hurdler Andre Phillips, tested positive for banned stimulants at the U.S. Olympic trials two months before the Summer Olympics in 1988.
Lewis' attorney, Martin D. Singer, confirmed Lewis had been telephoned by the USOC told that he had tested positive for pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and phenlypropanolamine. According to Singer, Lewis had no idea how the drugs got into his system.
Lewis did recall taking an herbal supplement which he bought over the counter but failed to disclose its use on a post-competition drug testing form during the trials.
On August 28, 1988, Lewis received a letter from the USOC which said his "appeal" was being treated as a "warning rather than a suspension".
USOC officials excused all three and, in DeLoach's case, he received a handwritten note wishing him well at the Olympics attached to the same form telling him he had failed a urine test.
"It sounds like they determined they were going to be accidental even before they notify the guy," said former IOC vice president Richard Pound, now the director of the World Anti-Doping Agency. "It looks like there was an almost automatic forgiveness for some of these athletes."
Lewis was eventually awarded the gold medal in the 100 metre final after Canadian rival Ben Johnson tested positive for a banned substance.
Aside from that victory, Lewis also won three other gold medals in 1988. DeLoach won gold in the 200 metres while Phillips upset two-time Olympic champion Edwin Moses to win the 400 metre event.
Documents show that 12 athletes from six sports received letters in 1988 from the USOC saying they got off with a warning because of "inadvertent use", a decision that Pound called "complete nonsense".
"The offense is the presence of a banned substance in your system," said Pound. "Now if Nazi frogmen abducted you and injected you against your will, then you might have a case."
A spokesperson for the U.S. Olympic Committee denied claims that they mishandled drug cases involving American athletes.
"There is no evidence the USOC ever suppressed or concealed the results of drug tests," Darryl Seibel tells the Register.
An internal audit of the USOC in 1998 criticized the governing body for developing an "emotional attachment" to its young stars, leading to a reluctance to penalize them for doping infractions.
In 2000, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency was created to oversee testing and sanctions, taking it out of the hands of the USOC.
I knew it. Those American cheats. Give Johnson his gold medal back. I always hated Lewis!!
