Survey results released by one of Europe’s top testing facilities have revealed the shockingly-high level of risks faced by athletes when taking supplements. The survey, conducted in June this year by HFL Sport Science Laboratory, found up to 10% of all sports supplements could be contaminated with illegal substances, such as steroids and stimulants.
114-products, chosen from Europe’s top-selling supplements, were tested at random and included supplements whose manufacturers claimed they had been tested for substances banned by both the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the IAAF, and can be bought and consumed by athletes of every level, anywhere in Europe. And, despite thinking the supplement is safe, the substances found in them could lead to those athletes facing long bans from their sport if they were to inadvertently ingest a contaminated batch.
The IAAF’s stance on supplements is clear: athletes don’t need to use them and should rely on a healthy, balanced diet to achieve maximum performance. And if they do use them, they do so at their own risk, and should exercise extreme caution and judgement when using them. Its message is simple but strong – athletes are solely responsible for what is in their body at all times and if they’re in any doubt about a supplement’s legality, don’t take it.
In reality, this isn’t always practical. The majority of athletes can’t afford a chef to cater for their every nutritional need 24-hours a day; and the frequency of competition combined with intensive training regimes means recovery times are less than they used to be, particularly if athletes are coming back from injury. Supplements, usually in the form of powders, pills and drinks, help the body speed up its healing time, give energy boosts and provide extra vitamins and minerals that can be absorbed quickly and easily. The ingredients in them are usually perfectly natural and don’t prevent a problem to athletes should they be tested, either in or out of competition. Most of Team GB and the world-class athletes seen competing at major competitions around the world will take supplements every day. They will have someone in their team who will look after their diet and buy supplements for them. Athletes expect them to source supplements from trusted suppliers that won’t lead to failed drug tests.
But, occasionally, things go wrong. Former world-record holder Asafa Powell and training partner Sherone Simpson have both claimed that their recent failed tests were possibly a result of contaminated supplements. The pair insist all supplements were checked by their team and were classed as being “suitable for consumption by professional athletes.” Powell and Simpson asked for the Italian Police, in conjunction with WADA, to take away a load of drugs from their hotel room for analysis, which subsequently came back as negative. Neither athlete has yet had their B-sample results confirmed.
The issue of supplements being contaminated with banned substances isn’t a new one either. Back in 1999, UK 400m runner Mark Richardson received a two-year ban after testing positive for nandrolone, a performance enhancing drug. Richardson protested his innocence and pointed to possible rogue enzymes from contaminated supplements affecting his sample. A re-test by a lab in Cologne agreed with him and his ban was lifted in 2000 leaving him free to continue his athletics career. Other athletes, including Linford Christie, Dougie Walker and Merlene Ottey, who all tested positive for nandrolone also claimed they were victims of contaminated supplements did not have their suspensions quashed. Richardson also spoke to the media about the dangers of taking supplements after British tennis player Greg Rudeski was found to have taken, and was subsequently cleared, of knowingly taking nandrolone in 2004. A year earlier, 7-tennis professionals tested positive for the same substance but did not get banned after it was revealed the ATP’s medical team had given out black-listed supplementary products to its players.
If a sport’s official coaching team, professional nutritionists and coaches can’t get it right; how can the athletes themselves be sure what they’re taking won’t fall foul of their sport’s testing guidelines? The simple answer is they can’t. An athlete’s routine revolves around training and competing so they can perform to their optimum level at major championships. They trust the people round them to keep them clean. The IAAF may hold athletes ultimately responsible for what supplements they take but the truth is that most world-class track and field performers are more than happy to abdicate at least some of that responsibility to someone else, and take what they’re offered without a second-thought.
Even the sport’s biggest star, Usain Bolt, follows this approach as he revealed that “I have a great team around me and as an athlete you have to trust your team. They read the fine print. I trust them,” at the press conference before last weekend’s Anniversary Games Diamond League fixture when asked about his own approach to doping, using supplements and keeping clean.
