Flashes of Panic

I just sent off a column to run Wednesday, using the “Got BALCO?” shirt as one of my hooks.

Constrained, however, by a word limit (oh, come on folks, this is the web, for crying out loud) and my own opening (OK, I wrote myself into a bit of a corner) I couldn’t vent the real bitterness I have about this issue.

It’s like this. In 2003, I attended a track meet as a reporter. An athlete who will remain nameless here, but who has been named in the ongoing scandal surrounding the designer steroid THG, ran a world record time at that meet. I reported the meet for the Runner’s World website, and they also ran post-race interviews by me with the athlete and coach.

In the interview, the coach essentially attributed the athlete’s improvement to yoga. He had a good rationale, based on an allergy/asthma breathing issue, which yoga alleviated. Then, less than a year later, the athlete was busted for a positive test for a designer steroid.

So, there’s two possibilities here. One, the coach was honestly unaware of the steroids. Given the nature of his relationship with the athlete, this would probably require the athlete also to be unaware of this (and, in fact, this is apparently what they are contending in a pending lawsuit.) Two, he looked me in the eyes and lied.

Either way, I then caused this lie to be published online under my byline.

I can’t begin to express how frustrating I find this. For the most part, I just try not to think about it.

Look, folks, inject yourself with whatever you want. It’s your body. But don’t put me in a position where I am unknowingly complicit in your deception. If that means not racing, don’t race.