Nandrolone is forever

I remember when C.J. Hunter tested positive for nandrolone before the Sydney Games, a minor story that became major only by right of the fact that, at the time, Hunter was married to one Marion Jones, Empress of Sydney.

Of course, in the press rooms, no one was surprised that a shot-putter had gotten nailed for drugs. It was the choice of his drug that baffled us. "Nandrolone?" we said. "What is this, 1974?"

Well, you might say the same thing about the recent spate of high-profile drug busts in sports - Roid Landis and Justin Gatlin for testosterone, and Marion Jones for EPO. This is pre-BALCO shit, classic dope that the BALCO boys thought they made obsolete. Now it's back on the scene, and there's a good article in the Washington Post today suggesting that it's because athletes are shying away from BALCO drugs due to the notoriety of the scandal.

My favorite part of the article is when a chemist tells the Post, "I could come up with [an undetectable steroid] that Catlin (the USOC drug czar) couldn't find if it were taped to his forehead. But nobody is interested in such substances."

Dah... why not? Evidently these athletes are stupider than I thought, and I already thought they were pretty stupid.

Tests suggest revival of well-known drugs (Washington Post)