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Stuart Stevens takes performance-enhancing drugs in order to see what they do

It's an old story, but once again timely thanks to the drug scandal that rocked this year's Tour de France. Not to be confused with the drug scandal that rocked last year's Tour de France. (But that's okay, because it's all cleaned up now. Tipster.)

Amateur cyclist Stuart Stevens takes performance-enhancing drugs for six months in order to see what they do. Read the first-hand account of the effects of human growth hormone, EPO, and steroids.

Published Monday, July 30, 2007 7:00 AM by oldnewthing
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Comments

# re: Stuart Stevens takes performance-enhancing drugs in order to see what they do

Monday, July 30, 2007 10:38 AM by Gabe

I think it's interesting how the author called it "scoring" when he got his drugs.

# re: Stuart Stevens takes performance-enhancing drugs in order to see what they do

Monday, July 30, 2007 12:38 PM by SM

I initially balked when I read, "Major League Baseball doesn't drug-test at all."  But then I checked the date of the article, 2003. Boy, a lot has happened in the world of steroids since then.

# As an official Fat Old Bastard...

Monday, July 30, 2007 2:30 PM by Gene

... ah wants me some HGH!

That was ABSOLUTELY fascinating, in a "hack your body" and "dangerous but informative experiment" sort of sense.

A friend of mine is on various steroids to battle a blood disease, and it has major effects on his temperament.

Thanks for the excellent linkage, Raymond!

# re: Stuart Stevens takes performance-enhancing drugs in order to see what they do

Monday, July 30, 2007 4:44 PM by CGomez

Although the article is older at 2003, I think it is a sobering viewpoint that performance enhancing drugs are probably still in wide use today.

Major sports such as baseball have secretive testing programs where we have no idea who has been "randomly tested" or not.  Many drugs that had a real effect for the author can not be detected. Other drugs or techniques can't directly be detected, and so failure ceilings are created (elevated levels of testosterone, anyone?)

The sad reality is that professional sports is probably still fueled by rampant performance enhancing drugs.  And while on the one hand it is plausible to simply legalize everything, it also dampens the hopes of legitimate athletes who don't want to risk harming their body or future merely for dreams of playing at the highest level.

It's a logical end once the money involved got to be so staggeringly much.

# re: Stuart Stevens takes performance-enhancing drugs in order to see what they do

Monday, July 30, 2007 11:25 PM by games

I can say categorically that I think all of these doping scandals are absolutely awful, seem to be rampant in almost every sport, and also seem to be escalating with the constant introduction of new substances that can work “under the radar” so to speak.  I’m one of those people who thinks Barry Bonds should be stopped before he can break the record and thrown out of baseball entirely -- stripped of every hit he ever made and banished to the ash heap of time.  That said, did anyone catch the news a couple of weeks ago about Gary Player claiming he knows some top ten golfers who are using steroids?  Golfers?  On steroids?  The only person who I could even come close to imagining had a physique that was steroid-enhanced would be Tiger Woods, and given his long history as a golfer, I simply can’t believe that he would ever need it.  John Daily on steroids?  Phil Mickelson?  Tim “Lumpy” Herron?  I hardly think so.  And what possible advantage could you get?  Maybe, maybe you could hit longer, but not straighter, and longer isn’t always even better.  If this turns out to be true, I’ll eat my five wood.

# re: Stuart Stevens takes performance-enhancing drugs in order to see what they do

Tuesday, July 31, 2007 1:00 AM by Igor

>takes performance-enhancing drugs for

>six months in order to see what they do.

They enhance perfomance don't they? Oh, wait, that wasn't the point. Doh...

# re: Stuart Stevens takes performance-enhancing drugs in order to see what they do

Tuesday, July 31, 2007 11:07 AM by Earl

Games, et al:

Steroids don't just make you gain muscle.  They dramatically cut recovery time from workouts.  As you age, you can keep working out every day just like you were 18 again -- or depending on treatment levels, even better.  *That's* the draw for all the endurance sports.

earl

# re: Stuart Stevens takes performance-enhancing drugs in order to see what they do

Tuesday, July 31, 2007 3:21 PM by asdf

This article reminds me of:

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/38 (specifically the 15:50-17:00 part in the MP4 video).

and

http://slate.com/id/2116858/

# How much is doping worth?

Thursday, August 09, 2007 12:34 AM by RiderX

Drug Test From Ray

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