Carl Lewis

[freedom1]

Hi guys I've been reading the posts regarding steroids and sprinters with great interest. Does anyone here have information as to Carl Lewis's relationship with performance enhancing drugs?

 

[white is right]

He failed a drug test leading up to Seoul, for a banned stimulant, the USOC covered it up because he stated he had a "cold". Really he never had a juicers' physique like Ben did. But he did cheat, interesting enough the guy that blew the whistle on the coverup was a black technician who was the head of the testing lab. He was rewarded by being fired.......

 

[SteveB]

One thing that people overlook is the advantage that stimulants give you in short sprinting. I read years ago that the caffeine in two cups of coffee could give you a 2% increase in performance in the 100m. In the upper echelons of 100m sprinting, 2% is huge (around 2/10's of a second). Steroids help by increasing muscle strength, but sprinting has a neuro component (reaction time, neuromuscular response, etc). Stimulants increase this neuro response. Since Lewis was using stimulants, one could argue that he had just as much of an advantage as Johnson on steroids.

 

[surfsider]

I've read that the stimulants he tested positive for were the type used to cover other illegal substances at the time. Steroids increase muscle strength and also help in bouncing back from injury. 2/10th's is what separated Lewis from the rest of the field at the '83 Worlds for instance.