OK, the witch hunt has gone far enough. Let athletes decide how
to enhance performanceThat's what I was thinking when I saw the German track and field federation suspend the marathon's darling of darlings, Uta Pippig, last week.
The first time I saw Pippig in person, she was stretched precariously over the side of a cherry picker at the Waikiki Mile starting line in December 1995, reaching out to the hands of adoring well-wishers from her country.
None of the other running celebs on hand that day were so obliging as this fraulein who once slipped through the Berlin Wall.
This is the same remarkable lady who managed to maintain her trademark smile while winning a third straight Boston Marathon in April 1996 against incredible odds. She came from behind despite agonizing stomach cramps and diarrhea that streamed embarrassingly down her legs.
I place that emotional triumph right up with Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series homer and Kerri Strug's 1996 Olympic vault.
NOW the German federation has found in a random test that Pippig had synthetic testosterone in her system. It can only mean she was using an anabolic steroid hormone like testosterone or androstenedione.
Yep, here we have "andro" again, Mark McGwire's performance-enchancer of choice.
It's a naturally occurring substance in the body that can be bought over the counter, but it's an evil tonic in the eyes of track and field.
And, of course, the National Football League.
Too many athletes with otherwise sterling character credentials are getting caught in the andro net and that kind of bugs me.
International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch last summer suggested that the Olympics should consider allowing performance-enhancers that don't endanger the athlete.
Now there's a novel approach. The IOC essentially saying that it's OK to develop one's athleticism through pharmacolgy as long as one does not hurt oneself in the process.
Maybe that line of thought ought to spread to other sports organizations.
If self-endangerment is the main consideration, then I say let the adult athletes go for it.
There are pro runners out there who could have medical degrees, they know so much about their own metabolisms.
If a veteran athlete like Pippig believes she can safely exploit a substance like andro, that should be her choice.
The problem with andro and other over-the-counter hormone supplements like DHEA, is that the jury is still out on their longterm effects.
IN the hands of less experienced and less knowledgeable athletes, these substances can be, and are, easily abused.
In Hawaii, and across the nation, there are prep athletes using creatine, andro and other supplements to intensify their performance on the playing field.
In some cases, unscrupulous coaches are encouraging entire teams to use or abuse these substances.
The danger of that is obvious. If a team of systematic anabolic steroid users takes the field against a smaller opponent with less access to the same substances, look out.
I say let's lighten up on the pros and Olympians whose careers revolve around a study of their own bodies.
But keep this stuff out of the hands of high school-age athletes.
There are just too many overzealous coaches out there who can't help seeing the youngsters they supervise as tickets to personal glory.
Pat Bigold has covered sports for daily newspapers
in Hawaii and Massachusetts since 1978.