The Biggest Losers in Drug-Tested Competitions

As I am writing this article, the 2007 Tour de France is besieged by scandals. With numerous doping infractions resulting in various athletes getting suspended from the competition, many people are asking, "Will cycling ever be clean again?" However, this article isn’t really about the Tour; it’s about bodybuilding, but this topic of doping has been on my mind for many years now.

I first became concerned about it when I attended a large, drug-tested bodybuilding competition featuring an impressive number of "natural" competitors. Natural competitors are those who don’t use drugs. But, among all the drug-free competitors were a small number of competitors who were obviously using drugs. I use the word "obviously" because the effects of steroids and other banned drugs are unmistakable – eyesight isn’t the best test, but it is a good place to start. And, my suspicions proved to be correct. A few weeks after the event the results of the drug-testing were made public – several people failed, most of them category winners.

Frankly, I was disappointed with all those who failed, some of whom I knew. However, in particular, two guys stood out for me whom I didn’t know at all. They were huge and ripped and, without question, not natural. It was easy enough to tell even the night before when they were weighing in. What was strange about them, though, was that they didn’t appear to be even hiding the fact that they were using drugs and they weren’t at all worried that they would eventually get caught. These two only seemed bent on flaunting their drug-built physiques on a natural stage in front of an audience who knew full well that they were cheating. Then, they were overjoyed when they took first and second place in the same class, beating a guy who was obviously clean and who ended up in third. They seemed so proud of their "accomplishment," that when they were receiving their trophies, I leaned over to the person next to me and said, "These are the two biggest losers in this drug-tested show – even though they just won."

As I said, several competitors failed the drug test at that event, and those two guys were among them. So, their names were erased from the final standings and the guy who placed third was awarded first (luckily, he was tested as well, so the organizers could genuinely recognize him as the class champion). Still, even though some sort of justice prevailed, that third-place guy missed his real moment of glory by not being awarded first place on the stage that night; instead, two fools who tried to cheat stole that away.

Surprisingly, that’s one of the happier stories in natural bodybuilding. Rigorous drug testing is tough to do, and it’s expensive too. As a result, drugged-up competitors oftentimes end up winning drug-tested competitions and never get caught. And just like those two fools that I saw several years ago, they flaunt their drug-built bodies and try to pretend that they’re proud to win a drug-tested competitions – on drugs. Yes, believe it or not, some people do that. But, as I’ll explain, it’s something that only a complete loser would do – even when he ends up being the winner of the event.

What makes bodybuilding different from most sports is that in Canada and the United States there are numerous drug-tested and non-drug-tested competitions. I’m not talking about random testing here. What I’m saying is that they explicitly tell you if an event is tested or not; the purpose is to make a clear division for competitors who want to compete naturally and those who do not. Most sports aren’t like that. Take cycling, for example, which is tested. There’s no such thing as a non-tested Tour de France. So, bodybuilding is unique that way and perhaps it’s a model that other sports should follow.

Furthermore, I’m happy to say that most competitors obey the rules, which are pretty simple and obvious. It goes like this: If you go into a non-tested competition, don’t expect everyone there to be clean (and I’m not talking about personal hygiene – I’m talking about drugs). Like it or not, that’s just the way it goes at non-tested competitions. But, that doesn’t mean drug-free competitors can’t or shouldn’t compete there. In fact, over the years I’ve seen a fair number of clean competitors do well in these non-tested competitions. In fact, some win, and it goes without saying that when they do it’s quite an accomplishment. Take Ontario’s Che Chamungwana, for example. We featured Che last month on our cover and in my "Publisher’s Page" article. He’s one of those amazing natural competitors who has competed successfully in tested and non-tested competitions. Nova Scotia’s Greg Doucette is another extraordinary natural competitor who has done very well in tested and non-tested competitions. Greg won the Overall title at this year’s CBBF National World Qualifier, which is a tested event. He also won Overall title at the Nova Scotia Championships in 2006, which is not tested. In fact, Greg and Che are at the same caliber and both faced off at the CBBF National Qualifier in June. Greg eventually emerged as the winner. (We featured Greg on our cover this month. Greg, who is 31, told me he has been training for 21 years! He first competed when he was 18. Furthermore, Greg’s an accomplished powerlifter and instead of going to the IFBB World Bodybuilding Championships this year, which is what winning the Qualifier entitled him to, he is concentrating on powerlifting for one year instead. Greg plans to return to the bodybuilding stage again in 2009.)

So, while clean and not-so-clean competitors are free to compete at these non-tested competitions, it’s crystal clear that only clean competitors should be in drug-tested competitions – something almost everyone will agree with me on. In fact, I know many competitors who use drugs – and they know that I know that they use them – will agree with me on this. I’ve actually seen them shake their heads in disgust when they see drugged-up competitors compete in drug-tested competitions. However, a few still don’t get it – or don’t want to get it – since it’s still happening often enough and I hope that this article will hit home and convince these people that it's not a good thing to do.

Now, I know that the first argument that some of the drug users who do this will give is this one: Everyone’s doing it, so why shouldn’t I? What they’re trying to make people think is that everyone who competes in a drug-tested event is on drugs, so they’re not the only ones who are cheating. This isn’t just an excuse made in bodybuilding, though. Oftentimes, this same excuse is used for other sports – and perhaps in some sports it’s true when there’s only one competition stream. But from my experience, it’s not that way in bodybuilding, probably because there are two distinct competitive streams and most people do respect the rules. As a result, the real truth of the matter is that at any drug-tested competition I’ve been to, the majority of competitors are drug-free. So, when it comes to the argument that everyone’s doing it, it’s more likely that the person who is cheating is trying to convince himself or herself that it’s OK. Obviously, though, it’s not.

The scandals at this year’s Tour de France showed that trying to cheat at a drug-tested competition results in nothing but disgrace. Furthermore, in bodybuilding, competitors should be even more ashamed of themselves for trying to do it, since there are two separate streams to compete in. Quite simply, if you use drugs and aren’t good enough for the non-tested competitions, then don’t pretend that you’re good by competing at competitions that are tested.

Remember, regardless of how they place or whether they get caught, drug users who enter drug-tested competitions end up being the biggest losers of all.

...Doug Schneider, Publisher
das@seriousaboutmuscle.com

Doug Schneider is the publisher and chief photographer for SeriousAboutMuscle.com, BodyBuildingLive.com, and SeriousAboutFitness.com.