Vancouver (Canada), Nov 22: More than a quarter century after the first drug tests in weightlifting were conducted at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, a cloud of suspicion still hangs over the sport, much to the chagrin of athletes and officials. "I am very tired of talking about doping," weightlifting icon and former Russian coach Vasily Alexeev said. "There will continue to be doping scandals because everybody wants to win gold medals and some are willing to take poison to do it. "Drugs are used in almost all sports, even in chess," Alexeev said, echoing comments from dozens of athletes, coaches and officials at the world weightlifting championships underway in Vancouver.
They are all weary of the sport's lingering negative reputation after so many years and countless doping scandals.

Alexeev blasted the three Bulgarian weightlifters banned last week for allegedly manipulating their urine samples to trick doping officials and said he would like to see controls become even stricter, going as far as imprisoning cheaters.


But even that, admits the former champion affectionately known among his many admirers as the "big man" would not likely curtail those willing to win at all costs.

With spectator interest lagging and Herculean records becoming harder to break, pressure to excel has never been greater and so might the temptation to use performance-enhancing drugs.


Bureau Report