Certainly it’s damage control but given the circumstances it seems to provide a mitigating ethical parachute for those athletes caught using testosterone and looking for someplace soft to land. He said that DHEA was one drug within a class of drugs that might have triggered a positive test result. Hamilton was well past his prime when he tested positive – he hadn’t posted a significant result since returning to the sport in 2007 from a two-year suspension for a blood transfusion at the Tour of Spain. It stated that his positive result was "consistent with the use of Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)," which is a testosterone precursor regarded as having little to no performance enhancing value. Seattle masters cyclist Kenny Williams has not been implicated in any of Papp’s criminal activities but was one of three cyclists in 2009 who tested positive in the same way as Zirbel. All contracts for drug testing should be filed upon execution with the Association of Boxing Commissions and the governing state athletic commission. It should be a condition of being granted a boxing license in this country that any fighter is subject to blood and urine testing at any time.
In the months following Zirbel’s positive test he reconsidered his retirement. In an email he stated, "I would love to get more conclusive information on my positive test. He added that, per WADA code, every athlete is responsible for what they put in their body. Whether it had little to no performance enhancing effect doesn’t matter. Tygart said all forms of anabolic agents like DHEA are prohibited under the WADA code and as such there was no need to identify the specific anabolic agent responsible for triggering Zirbel’s adverse analytical finding.
Nor is the fiery Brit the lone voice of suspicion in a sport in which doping has evolved through the years -- as in many others -- from hard-core steroids to growth hormone and designer drugs. Belfort is expected to appeal to the Nevada State Athletic Commission for an exemption to stay on testosterone therapy for the Weidman fight, which is complicated by the fact that the same commission suspended him in 2006 after a positive steroid test. Anti-doping leaders thus fear testosterone exemptions might be used by athletes to dope under the disguise of legitimate medical need. The issue, said Catlin, is that synthetic testosterone remains one of the favorite drugs to enhance performance.
Three years ago, Catlin told this writer, "USADA should not enter into a contract that doesn’t call for it to report positive test results to the appropriate governing body. Since then, people in the PED-testing community have begun to openly question the role played in boxing by USADA. But neither USADA nor Richard Schaefer did so in a timely manner.
In an Aug. 14, email she acknowledges, "At this time, the only professional boxer under USADA’s program who has been found to have committed an anti-doping rule violation is Erik Morales." It is incumbent on them to notify us if a fighter tests positive. And if there was no CIR testing, what testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio did USADA’s tests show? Did USADA perform CIR testing on Mayweather’s urine samples during that time period? Earlier this year, in response to a request for documents, the Nevada State Athletic Commission produced two lab reports listing the testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio on tests that it (not USADA) had overseen on Floyd Mayweather. If an athlete uses too much epitestosterone - and the precise amount is difficult to calibrate - the result can be an abnormally low T-E ratio. If an athlete tries to manipulate his or her testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio, it is difficult to balance the outcome.

Gender: Female

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