Lance Armstrong used performance enhancing drugs? Behold our shock!

[Zemgirl]

Support programs are a good thing, but "awareness" tends to be a fuzzy objective. Awareness of what? That there's a disease called cancer, and a lot of people get it?

Awareness can be about things such as different types of cancer, specific risk factors, early detection screenings, genetic testing, reducing stigma and misconceptions about cancer. I agree it can be a fuzzy objective, but there's also a lot that can be done in this area that can help reduce cancer mortality. And I don't mean silly things like lighting buildings in pink to raise awareness for breast cancer (which was done at my old job a few months ago). That is beyond stupid and a complete waste of resources.

But I bet a lot of people, even educated ones in countries with good health systems, don't always know what sort of testing they should get, and matters can be even worse in places were there is less access to affordable healthcare. So yes, raising awareness regarding specifics rather than generalities is a valuable thing.

[heckles]

Awareness can be about things such as different types of cancer, specific risk factors, early detection screenings, genetic testing, reducing stigma and misconceptions about cancer.

Those are important issues. Does Livestrong do anything impressive on those fronts? I know they have a good website, www.livestrong.com, that has a lot of good content on a lot of health topics, but is that website part of the charitable arm or the for-profit one?

[Zemgirl]

Those are important issues. Does Livestrong do anything impressive on those fronts? I know they have a good website, www.livestrong.com, that has a lot of good content on a lot of health topics, but is that website part of the charitable arm or the for-profit one?

There's Livestrong.org, which is the charity, and Livestrong.com, which AFAIK is a commercial site. I'm not familiar with the specifics of Livestrong's work; I have heard that among other things, they help patients and families navigate the healthcare system and make sure they get the insurance coverage they need, which can obviously be an issue in the US. Also that they help women with cancer-related fertility issues. FWIW, their Charity Navigator rating is high. But my comments about awareness were more general in nature, based on research projects that I was involved with in the past.

[Lil Sarah]

I wear (and currently am still wearing) my LiveStrong bracelet. My little cousin died of leukemia in August and I have worn it since he was diagnosed 4 years ago. I still wear it to honour him

[heckles]

I wonder how many pastors used Lance Armstrong as their illustrative example in their sermons last Sunday? Maybe 80%? Maybe the other 20% used Manti Te'o?

[MarieM]

I wonder when we'll find out that all who are condamning him (like Bradley Wiggins) will fall for doping too. 10 years is about right I'd say

[heckles]

Anyone see 60 Minutes on Sunday? There was a brief mention at 14:44 that the CEO from the charitable side of Livestrong was involved in Congressional lobbying against USADA, and, if successful, possibly could have closed the agency.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50139841n

[Cachoo]

I saw the 60 minutes piece: It certainly sounds like some were very helpful in giving Lance information about testing that should have been top secret. After the truth emerged I was trying to think one, single word to describe Lance; diabolical is my choice.

[RickInSanJose]

With such new practices as Genetic Doping on the scene, I can't help but wonder what the ultimate outcome of doping in sports will be. If the day arrives that an average unathletic person can take one yellow pill a day for a week and skate as well as Michelle Kwan, or a blue pill a day for a week and clean & jerk 600 pounds, or a pink pill a day for a week and bat home runs out of the ballpark right and left, then of what use will athletic competition be? None. It will all be pointless.

BTW, I find it interesting how, when ex-doper former athletes testify before Congress, they always look like deflated souffles wearing suits much too big for them now.

[Lacey]

I hope they get him on everything possible, fry him in court, and put him in jail. For years. He is a liar.

I hope they are able to get back every penny he ever won where they can prove he was doping. He is a cheat.

I hope he has to pay fines until he loses everything. He stole from his teammates, his sponsors, his country. He is a thief.

I hope he never gets to do sport again, for he is not a sportsman nor an athlete. He is a fraud.

[heckles]

I hope they get him on everything possible, fry him in court, and put him in jail.

I'm not so sure he'll do time. Travis Tygert from USADA said that Armstrong was legally shrewd to admit to doping only with his Tour de France wins through 2005, because he's outside the five-year statute of limitations that way. It also bolsters Armstrong's claim that one could not win TdF without doping, since his purportedly drug-free attempts at the race in '09 and '10 did not result in wins.

[Ziggy]

One of the reasons why skating is 'the real sport' (whatever that means).

No amount of doping will make you land a quad.

[Zemgirl]

With such new practices as Genetic Doping on the scene, I can't help but wonder what the ultimate outcome of doping in sports will be. If the day arrives that an average unathletic person can take one yellow pill a day for a week and skate as well as Michelle Kwan, or a blue pill a day for a week and clean & jerk 600 pounds, or a pink pill a day for a week and bat home runs out of the ballpark right and left, then of what use will athletic competition be? None. It will all be pointless.

Doping can certainly help people in some ways, such as strength and endurance. But even for those who take banned substances, they are a shortcut, not a complete substitute for hard work (probably the opposite, as some substances allow athletes to train longer and recover faster) and in sports like skating, there is a lot of specialized skill that no pill will teach you - as Ziggy pointed out. There's a reason why the only "doping" cases in skating were people who took the wrong cold medication, like Elena Berezhnaya.

I hope he has to pay fines until he loses everything. He stole from his teammates, his sponsors, his country. He is a thief.

Actually I believe his teammates did very well for themselves, and his sponsors certainly weren't losing any money. Excuse me if I don't feel sorry for guys who only remembered that doping is bad after they'd made their money from it.

[Ziggy]

There's a reason why the only "doping" cases in skating were people who took the wrong cold medication, like Elena Berezhnaya.

Oh I believe that was just a crappy excuse. Berezehnaya wasn't very well back then and I can definitely see how they could have given her something to give her a bit of a boost.

I am sure that there are skaters who do that. But that's the only thing doping will give you in skating. Faster recovery, more stamina, etc. It won't make you suddenly gain technical skill and be able to execute difficult jumps.

[Vash01]

One of the reasons why skating is 'the real sport' (whatever that means).

No amount of doping will make you land a quad.

and yet Elena Berezhnaya (and later Larianov) was disqualified from competing at the 2000 worlds because she took a cold remedy medicine just before the Europeans and failed the drug test. How was a Sudafed (from reports, that's what she took) going to help her land jumps or throws? It's totally unfair that she was disqualified, while Armstrong could continue to win titles after titles after intentionally cheating/doping.

ETA: I just saw the posts just above this, but I am not going delete what I wrote.

[MarieM]

I am sure there is suspicion of doping in skating, there were rumors flying around certain skaters at one point during the 98-2002 cycle, involving russians skaters and others.
It's just doping won't help much in that sport IMO.

[Zemgirl]

and yet Elena Berezhnaya (and later Larianov) was disqualified from competing at the 2000 worlds because she took a cold remedy medicine just before the Europeans and failed the drug test. How was a Sudafed (from reports, that's what she took) going to help her land jumps or throws? It's totally unfair that she was disqualified, while Armstrong could continue to win titles after titles after intentionally cheating/doping.

Actually, I disagree, because Armstrong wasn't caught cheating when he was racking up all those wins (well, at least not in any public way). So long as someone is suspected of doping rather than actually confirmed to have failed a test/doped, I don't think it's unfair that they can continue to compete.

But I've always thought that the penalties were too harsh for athletes who fail tests because of medications that contain banned substances. I realize that the responsibility is on them and on team doctors to make sure they're following the rules, but there are so many banned substances, and so many medications - I can see how mistakes might be made. And there is indeed a world of difference between someone who intentionally and consistently doped, like Armstrong or any of the cyclists who only got six month bans, and someone who made a mistake due to negligence, such as Larionov.

ETA: Just saw that Armstrong spoke with Cycling News.

[heckles]

I am sure there is suspicion of doping in skating, there were rumors flying around certain skaters at one point during the 98-2002 cycle, involving russians skaters and others.
It's just doping won't help much in that sport IMO.

Depends. Some of the hormonal development inhibitors like Lupron could be used to delay female development and slow height growth.

[Ziggy]

and yet Elena Berezhnaya (and later Larianov) was disqualified from competing at the 2000 worlds because she took a cold remedy medicine just before the Europeans and failed the drug test. How was a Sudafed (from reports, that's what she took) going to help her land jumps or throws? It's totally unfair that she was disqualified, while Armstrong could continue to win titles after titles after intentionally cheating/doping.

ETA: I just saw the posts just above this, but I am not going delete what I wrote.

Sudafed is made of pseudoephedrine. Pseudoephedrine is a stimulant (similar to amphetamine).

I personally believe that Berezhnaya knowingly and deliberately took some kind of stimulant in order to get a little "pick me up".

I mean there is no way an athlete at his level doesn't realise that pretty much all cold medications contain amphetamine derivatives, thus making them banned.

[escaflowne9282]

Sudafed is made of pseudoephedrine. Pseudoephedrine is a stimulant (similar to amphetamine).

I personally believe that Berezhnaya knowingly and deliberately took some kind of stimulant in order to get a little "pick me up".

I mean there is no way an athlete at his level doesn't realise that pretty much all cold medications contain amphetamine derivatives, thus making them banned.

It's possible she took something for a pick me up. If that's the case though, I don't think any of them knew/realized it contained a banned substance. IIRC, they were pretty shellshocked when that happened and Moskvina gave an interview in which she blamed herself for not looking at the ingredients of Berezhnaya's medication more carefully.
I've always been under the impression that doping is pretty uncommon in skating since smaller frames and body weights are preferred and smaller body wieght makes it easy to pick up any unusual substances.