How many elite athletes throughout the world have been tempted to go on the "juice" to stay on the top of their game? How many elite athletes are on the juice right now? The same may be asked about some of the elite paddlers here in Hawaii and abroad. How many of them have been tempted to go on the "juice" or may be on the "juice" right now.
Do you think there needs to be a system in place to regulate this action done by those who feel that going "natural" is not good enough?
Submitted by kaiwi on Wed, 08/20/2008 - 9:18pm
Frick I juice all the time. Whats the big deal? I don't think jamba juice is improving my performance much more than anything else.
#1 Wed, 08/20/2008 - 9:26pm
I figure the drug bag of a tour cyclist would do a paddler well. In college I did some research on drugs in sport and it is amazing...who would think pistol shooters would take drugs? They take beta-blocker to slow their pulse as they take their shots between heartbeats. At high levels the slight tremor from the pulse can make a difference. Who would have thought? At elite levels there drug use in almost all sports. Many of the sports I put sweat and tears into are drug heavy (powerlifting, shot, football) and the drugs make a big difference. I was never even on the radar screen for being accomplished at any of those sports and all I can do is compete with myself. I did not receive the gift of athleticism and when I look at my wifes family with olympians on both sides you can see what an amazing thing it is to have the right parents! All I can think to do is compete with myself, if I am last and had a personal best that is good, some great athletes almost always win but do not feel anything unless they beak their own records. I got my 16.5 miles today and that was great for me, the farthest I have ever paddled without stopping after 6 months of paddling so that is all I can do is be mentally tough where I am not physically gifted. "no bird soars too high if it soars on its own wings"
#2 Wed, 08/20/2008 - 9:43pm
testing, testing, testing and testing again.
Ban the cheaters !
#3 Wed, 08/20/2008 - 10:36pm
Elite paddlers do not need the juice. They have done the hard yards and have mastered the skill of reading the ocean, getting the most out of their mind, body and canoe.
There are no short cuts to excellence.
Look at all the elite padddlers backgrounds. Nothing was created overnight, an injection or pill didn't get them to where they are.
Hard Yards did.
Maybe wanna be paddlers will be tempted but even then...wouldn't it be cheaper and safer to purchase fake trophies and claim to have been a winner?
I personally do not care if any elite paddler has considered taking the juice. I admire what they have achieved drugs or not.
They inspire me and I appreciate the skill involved in what they do.
#4 Thu, 08/21/2008 - 12:11am
Luckily ,paddling is such a technique dependent sport that (elite) clean participants CAN compete against drug cheats!
Big water makes it even easier as surf skills are worth way more than strength/fitness.
The big problem is when a great paddler/team does drugs and then is near unbeatable.
IMO , Every race that wants to call itself the "world championships" should drug test the top 4 place getters in mens and womens
Lats
#5 Thu, 08/21/2008 - 2:13am
Can we first weigh all of the top 20 finishing canoes at the end of Molokai?
#6 Thu, 08/21/2008 - 5:25am
I'd say most of the elite paddlers choose from 3 types of juice: coors light, bud light, or green bottles. Maybe a bit of da kine sometimes.
I have to laugh when people talk about drug testing. I would say that in close to half of the races I've been in there is some kind of timing problem, including major events. Now you want those same volunteers to administer drug tests. Pro cycling can't even administer their drug tests without ending up in court battles over the results.
Call me naive but most of the elite paddlers I know get the leg up by training hard and not showing up to races hung over. Although, I've known some to do the later sometimes.
#7 Thu, 08/21/2008 - 5:32am
True, elite athletes got to where they are through hard work and perseverance, but there are circumstances (such as plateauing or aging), that may lead them to the performance enhancing drugs. I knew a pro body-boarder that confessed to me that he used to take steroids before competition. I'm like body-boarding??? He claimed it gave him an edge.
I think there should be a drug testing for at least the winners of a really big event just to keep doubts out of minds, even though we all know that no paddler is on the "juice" (except for the types that comes in green bottles, 12-packs, or thats $5+ for an original size in a foam cup, damn inflation).
#8 Thu, 08/21/2008 - 10:55am
If you are going to "juice" up, make sure you use the right "juice" and not green bottles.
#9 Thu, 08/21/2008 - 11:43am
The ultimate thrill and high for an athlete should be to win on your own strength and abilities. A true athlete does not cheat.
Doping is cheating and if you win while doping then you really didn't win on your own. When you go to sleep at night or look in the mirror deep down inside you know that what you did wasn't really that great. You might be able to fool those around you but you can never fool yourself or the man upstairs.
Just do the best you can with what God gave you and know in your heart that you did it on your own. Take care of yourself and be kind to those around you and when you go to sleep at night you can feel good about yourself.
#10 Thu, 08/21/2008 - 12:05pm
Yeah, who is gonna pay for drug testing?? I dont see anyone paying higher entry fees for that. Plus, who gets tested? You gonna only test winners? Then youll be testing some 60's and 70's men and women. I can just see auntie being ushered to the bathroom with a cup after winning her class. I think the idea is absurd with the level of this sport in Hawaii. I say keep these mainland ideas in the mainland. Paddling is a fun, social, recreational sport with almost no prize money. Lets keep it that way. If someone did fail it would be a black mark on the sport that it doesnt need. Those that use will get whats coming to them.
#11 Fri, 08/22/2008 - 12:15am
Sadly drug testing in/after competitions will do very little but catch some poor dumb guy who hadn't a clue what he/she was doing.
Changes to the WADA code now allow drug testing officials to move testing away from competitions and into the heavy training blocks where drugs will make a huge difference; when the top paddlers are doing 30-40 hours a week of training for weeks on end.
The new code also allows officials to target athletes who improve faster than the average elite athlete or associate with know WADA offenders (either athletes, coaches or sport systems). This will make the difference.
Working with this targeted testing are the stricter out of competition random testing rule ("whereabouts" program) where athletes are eligible for testing 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They have to account for their whereabouts on an hourly basis- including a 1 hour period each day where they must be where they say they were NO EXCUSES. Can't find you to test you? Doping infraction warning. Three warnings? 2 year ban.
And technical sports like paddling will benefit from drugs as much as any other "technical" sports such as swimming, xc skiing or tennis.
To be good at these sports its repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition,... then do it again faster, further, longer, stronger- and again.
Sad but true. We can believe its clean, but history, reality and human nature suggests otherwise
#12 Fri, 08/22/2008 - 11:40am
It is about money only.
I don't care if a competitor is doped except with regard to his health,
local sports or Olympics.
Why else should I care ??
Doping controls are ridiculously hypocritical:
Why are they being done ? To keep a sport marketable, quite simple.
#13 Sat, 08/23/2008 - 5:41pm
What does 'clean' refer to exactly ?
Those 'poor dumb guys' know exactly what they want and I do not think that you can call them dumb, they do exactly what is needed/expected.
Top athletes are performers that help create a spectacle that others are willing to pay for.
Maybe Michael Phelps would be swimming 30 plus hours a week if no money or fame would be involved in sports; more likely he would have to work though and probably be satisfied with less hours in the water.
#14 Sat, 08/23/2008 - 5:52pm