I believe the questions asked was a bit open and a 1-7 strongly agree to strongly disagree type answer, and didnt specifically say “banned substances”. It wasnt as much as 20%, 12% at Frankfurt 4% at Weisbaden and due to the nature of questions and answers was an estimate using a formulae.
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Why?
One of them raced on borrowed bike and walked in the shallow end of the swim.
He was virtually last but has 19 inch arms.
This was in 2017-18, as far as I’m aware he was one and done tri wise.
What a complete and utter waste of money and resources testing him now.
If I knew someone was doped and in my age group for tri or hyrox I still wouldn’t grass them up, I’d just genuinely feel sorry for there fragile little minds.
Let’s be honest here no one really cares if you AG podium or cross the line with mr 19 “ arms.
The pros and combat sports in any guise are completely different
If I knew someone was white collar boxing I’d grass them in a heartbeat
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They wouldn’t test now, but they might well make notes for future use…they would also look at groups and locations…
except perhaps the person who came 4th…
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All said and done the chance of that happening ( 4th) in a tri are pretty slim, but unfortunatly not impossible.
It’s most likely that alpha tri types using EPO and test for recovery to get to the top step wouldn’t tell a soul.
The amount of testing in tri ( apart from world champs etc) is pretty pointless, but we live in hope
On a more realistic note the amount of ex pro cyclist dopers, vino etc is just cringe… once some of fastest cyclists in the world racing random people there own age … just why?
World Series of fitness racing ( who thinks this shite up) Hyrox much more likely, they have none !
So fill your boots!!
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Only but to add but be if they’re serious, it is worth an athlete reading the TUE process before starting the drug though.
Some have clauses such as having tried alternative medicines first, or needing proof of certain blood tests results which not necessarily have been done.
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absolutely…
that is why we are reliant on everyone informing AD when they are aware of drug taking…targeted tests both remove the culprit and act as a (slight) deterrent…
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How would people feel coming second and being beaten by someone with a TUE?
What about if it was for something seen as major/commonly abused, eg growth hormone or testosterone? Is that different to a TUE for insulin in a diabetic, or a beta-2 agonist in an asthmatic?
Not easy Q’s, just floating that bit of a grey area. In theory should be no different 
Between 2010 and 2020 less than 1% of Olympic competitors had TUEs (with no difference between medalists and non-medalists)
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I don’t think you would get a TUE for testosterone regardless.
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You can for quite a lot of medical conditions, just not anything close to male adult tiredness. Most would be things like failure to develop.
Hence my earlier addition to ejc post, as starting testosterone/many hormones would prevent you from getting baseline tests you might need to prove and get the TUE.
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I have achieved more in triathlons than I could have imagined, the idea that I have been beaten by someone taking PEDs doesn’t really bother me. I have no problem at all with someone with a valid TUE, they are not breaking any rules and it’s something I have zero control over
Other people, who determine the rules, have looked at this extensively. Just because you can get a prescription doesn’t mean that you can get at TUE. This may seem obvious, however, I am sure that the majority of peope competing while taking TRT believe that they are safe as they have a prescription. Does Mark Lewis have a TUE?
I think the question you pose is more of an issue for professional athletes, where they are far more dependent on results, however, for an AGer I don’t really see it as an issue.
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Well It wasn’t specifically meant to you, but a general thought about TUE use in elite sport
TriTalk has been very vocal against testosterone use in sport the past 12 months on this thread. Wondered if people would accept someone with a TUE or still always question it.
ETA
Which I suppose comes down to a far bigger philosophical argument about a person’s right to compete in sport, at the possible expense of “fairness”.
Someone with testicular cancer who loses both testicles should have testosterone for health reasons, and happiness in life. But should they compete with a normal testosterone level? (**)
What about if their replaced level is higher than someone elses level?
What ‘deficiencies’ should be allowed to be corrected and get a TUE, compared to celebrating attributes that make one person more elite.
(**) I think so, before I get misinterpreted. But I think it’s at least reasonable to be open to safe debate
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There are so many grey areas, and lets be honest for the most part AG sport it doesnt matter, 99% of us are competing against ourselves and for fun, and the sort of person who may have lost both balls, isnt going to trouble the podium, but if they did, it raises some issues considering there are real things like “professional AG’ers” that whilst not professional in the fact they get prize money, they use the status to gain coaching clients, sponsorship, instawhoring / u tubbing etc
Ive said before on the future of IM thread that IM should potentially have a “sprotif” type version of the event where the rules are relaxed around things like outside influence, doping controls etc and its about “just finishing in 17hrs” then a main event which QF’s you for Continental/World Champs. It could mean testing could be used and those serious enough to “compete” would be required to be more careful. Then maybe there could be more consistency across WADA ie USADA require a TUE in advance for AG athletes, UKAD not, surely rules should be standardised, and by having “Elite AG” racing you maybe could use resources to treat them closer to pros.
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When I was 11 I had a thyroid gland removed due to an abscess. Fortunately I have never had an issues and have no symptoms of Testosterone deficiency, and have never taken any medication, however, if I went to the doctor, and discovered that I have low T, I may be in a position to get a TUE.
Now consider a hypothetical situation, in 10 years, my T levels drop significantly and I can no longer train enough and cannot compete for AG podiums, my quality of life is being impacted, and I have exhausted alternatives like thyroxin, which does not require a TUE. What would I do, in all honesty I cannot answer it myself, however, I suspect that I may apply to a TUE on the assumption that most of the other 60 year olds competing at the pointy end are also on TRT.
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Interesting stuff guys…my testosterone levels have fallen significantly over the years but are not yet at the level that i could have any course of treatment. That said, because they were so high when i was young, i can feel the affect and probably have a greater need than someone who had low levels to start with and now has treatment…
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His latest video is about how he has trained like a pro over the last six months to try and get 1st place in AG in Manchester HYROX. But he has now ‘given up’ as he didnt “think it was worth it”… wonder if they’ve announced they are drug testing the podium now… ?
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There is still no testing apparently.
He comments in the hyrox groups still, but not as much as he once did.
His comments are sound and informative, he comes across well to experienced and newbies alike.
His videos are funny and informative BUT he takes artificial testosterone, I believe he took quite a bit of heat on social media ?!
On platforms I don’t go on Insta, twitter etc, but don’t know that for sure.
He has said for some time that Manchester ( pro division heavier weights basically) would be his last race,
At least he is honest, there will 100% be people looking at the podium using all sorts, but the % is lower than I initially thought, I’ll be happy to do wall ball 100 and finish it… ped free !!
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This is a good test case; and I imagine we agree on it. But in almost every case, this is not the case.
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The way you phrase this is very interesting. People who dope with T are conflating the two; erroneously.
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“My mental health is being affected because I cant podium at IM so Im gonna take drugs as losing affects my quality of life”
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