V10 N. 12. Mo Farah In a Bit of a Shit Storm Over L-Carnatine Injections

Once again, Sean Ingle of The Guardian is keeping us in the loop with the seemingly endless drama of doping in sport.  This time it is with a series of injections of L-carnatine,  a 'naturally occurring' amino acid into Mo Farah.  My question, if it is naturally occuring, why do you need more?  There is a legal limit of injecting 50ml of the stuff and Mo was well under that limit.   But when questioned by the US Anti Doping Agency (USADA) about getting the injections by a United Kingdom  Athletics (UKA) doctor in the presence of then coach Alberto Salazar, Mo seemed to have forgotten that this had happened.  Mo according to the report denied taking the injections several times, this being just prior to the 2014 London Marathon (a race he did not run well).  Then after walking out of  that interview, he suddenly remembered he had taken the injections, walked back into the interview room and 'fessed up.  This to me seems in no way to admit to any wrongdoing, but it does make me wonder why  so many additives need to be pumped into elite runners, just under what the rule book allows.  It almost makes me wish we were back in the 'shamateur' days of the sport.  I don't know if we were ever in a truly drug or additive-free period of sport, but the game these days is being played out to the extreme of human capacity to absorb the 'stuff of victory'.   

As for 'forgetting what he had taken' I can completely understand.  Hell I take at least three drugs everyday to keep me alive and functioning, but if you asked me to name all three and the dosages, I would fail the test.  But forgetting those specific injections makes me think that he was getting a lot of injections all the time.  Otherwise why would you forget a couple of them that you took just a day or so before a big race?

The other problem that athletes sometimes forget or maybe never are aware of is the shallowness of their lives when this is the only goal they seem to have.  They appear to be living only for these few fleeting moments of youth (and the money) , and they make extraordinary efforts to extend their youth, as we now see world class sprinters in their late thirties, and they have no idea what lies around the corner.  I guess that is a classic description of youth.  It's how the old convince the young to go to war.  They have no idea.   

But in the day when many of the best athletes also had to earn a living in the real world just to be able to show up at the starting line, they were much better prepared for life after competition and  were less a victim of commercial parasites draining everything out of them and leaving them on the scrap heap.    George Brose

Here is Sean Ingle's report.

Mo Farah Changes Account During USADA Interview

I wonder how other sports athletes way into their prime, like, Roger Federer, stack up to additives and other levels of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc to help keep the body functioning?? As long as it is in an agreed level and is something the body would normally create why not? Some bodies don't have the right chemical balance and require some assistance. Maybe I have this drug issue all wrong but I see no harms if it is a natural substance of the body and stays within agreed limits.  Susan