Posted: December 13, 2004

Drugs in Sport: More on Nina Kraft

Dear RunnersWeb.com,

I stirred the pot in recent discussion on Nina Kraft (see original article below), but my point got lost in the mix. And it should be made very clear that I do not support or condone the use of illegal, performance enhancing drugs, and our clients have always been required to sign contracts stating they do not use them.

The core of my discussion called for race directors and federations to take a stance in 2005. Many have shoved the doping issue under the rug for years. It is known among pro athletes that a number of major triathlons have rarely if ever tested and that some have had little interest in doing so. This must change.

In business, professional and amateur sport, and neighborhood card games, when there is money and/or glory at stake, some people who will do anything to get it. We all have seen amateurs cheat by cutting the corner on a bike or run course, trying to win their age groups. There are pro triathletes who have doped or cheated in other ways and gotten away with it. We cannot prevent their desire to cheat, but race directors and federations should state they will test and follow through with it, and hopefully that will prevent cheating and catch those who try.

My bottom line is this: in addition to year-round testing, all prize-money-winning pro athletes should be tested at events, even those who win only swim, bike or run preems.

Steve Handwerker, principal
SLHCommunications, Inc.

Triathlon: Does Banning Nina Kraft From The Sport For A Few Years Really Make Sense?

Editor's Note: The views expressed below are those of the author

An Open Letter To The Editors In Triathlon From Steve Handwerker

Does banning Nina Kraft from the sport for a few years really make sense? She's a brilliant athlete even when she races clean, and brings a lot to the sport. Kraft admitted she made a terrible decision. Let's move forward productively, not negatively, and allow her to race in 2005, and let her help clean up the sport.

Here's what I propose:
If she agrees to pay a fine to the doping control organization, that exact sum of money would be spent on anti-doping marketing campaigns and post-race, prize money winning pro athletes' testing. Kraft would also agree to regular testing during training months, pre- and post-race at her events, perhaps at her own expense. The total fine, however, should be reasonable and not be so high as to be prohibitive to her returning to the sport; in Germany, fines by the court are relative to the income of the guilty person. Kraft would hereby have the opportunity to prove herself a brilliant, clean athlete and help clean and grow the sport.

And what I propose for event management and federations:
As many of us know, doping control for pro athletes has not been common in triathlon. Whether race directors and federations have honestly not known or have been in denial of the problem, Kraft's situation hopefully forces them to accept it and begin to test all prize money winners.

Invariably, race directors and federations will claim testing is too costly. The funds must not come from age-group entry or membership fees. To help defray the costs, why not charge all pro athletes who enter a race (free and paying entry) an extra fee for doping control or more for annual licenses? Consider it triathlon's version of the airline industry's "September 11 Fee" placed on every airplane ticket.

Race directors and federations should bear the brunt of the cost. Pro athletes should know better, most do, and most have great integrity, but even still, race directors should have been making and enforcing doping rules all along to prevent the problem. Still, though most pro triathletes are just barely getting by, their reasonable contribution to anti-doping costs will help them see clearly that there will be control and that the bad apples in the crowd won't get away with doping.

These are a few ways to not just repair but also grow the sport --

From: Steve Handwerker