The Hindu : Sport : Drug-free diet for athletes

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 12, 2004

Sport

Sport - Sports : General

Drug-free diet for athletes

SALT LAKE CITY, APRIL 11. Canadian gymnast Richard Ikeda is wary of what kind of nutritional supplements he takes for fear of what they might contain.

Hundreds of substances could land an athlete like him on the banned list, erasing years of training because of something that may not give him a competitive edge but is still forbidden. But a Salt Lake City-based supplement manufacturer claims that its supplements are drugs free.

USANA has gone on to suggest that it's willing to pay $735,000 to an athlete who tests positive while using its products.

"We get dope tested and drug tested constantly," said Ikeda, the defending Canadian champion. "When you're taking something, you want to make sure it doesn't have something in it that you don't know about."

So Ikeda wasted no time in taking advantage of this. "We're told not to take anything we don't know if it's completely safe," Ikeda said. "Now it's a little easier."

Dietary supplements are not as tightly regulated as pharmaceuticals, and some athletes have blamed the over-the-counter products for positive doping tests.

USANA began considering the guarantee two years ago, around the time of the 2002 Winter Olympics, after two of its Canadian distributors sought assurances the products they were selling didn't contain anything illegal.

At the Salt Lake City Games, a U.S. bobsledder was disqualified for testing positive for traces of a steroid, which he blamed on a protein powder he had been given as a meal substitute.

USANA compared its ingredients with WADA's lengthy banned list and began eliminating substances.

"We said, `Why risk it? Why not just get it out all together?''' said Tim Wood, USANA's vice president for research and development.

Dick Pound, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said he hadn't heard of USANA's guarantee or any like it.

"I think it's good if they're sure enough about that kind of warranty that they're going to put their name, reputation and assets behind it," Pound said.

But Pound, a 1960 Olympic swimmer, said athletes should still be cautious about what they take. The tests don't discriminate between intentional and unintended use of banned substances.

"If I were advising somebody, I'd say `Before you do this, you make really sure you know what that guarantee means,''' Pound said.

USANA products began making nutritional supplements in 1992 and has grown considerably since then, reporting sales of $200 million for 2003.

USANA announced the guarantee earlier this year and finalised its first contract, with Canadian mountain biker Chrissy Redden, last month. The final details of Ikeda's guarantee are almost finished.

The amount of the guarantee is based on how much sponsorship money the athlete could lose because of a positive test.

The company plans to extend the offer to U.S. athletes and those in other countries, though some Americans have already contacted the company themselves.

"Our expectation is that we never will have to pay it. Hopefully that is an indication of our level of confidence," said Tracy Thornley, a USANA product manager.

The idea has been popular so far with athletes, but many say the money would hardly be worth becoming ineligible to compete.

"It's more the guarantee than the million," Ikeda said. "It's them guaranteeing their product and standing behind it." — AP

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport