Steroid Use

"On Thursday morning, representatives of the horse-racing industry told Congress that thoroughbred racing's drug problem was a myth. On Thursday afternoon, a report by the California Horse Racing Board revealed that Bob Baffert, a Hall of Fame trainer, had been giving every horse in his barn a thyroid hormone without ever checking to see if any of them had thyroid problems."

"A first major offence currently carries a two-year ban, with athletes banned for life if they test positive again. The new code, which comes into effect from 1 January 2015, means offenders will miss at least one Olympic Games."

"Tezdzhan Naimova, a Bulgarian sprinter of Turkish descent who specializes in the 60, 100, and 200 metres, has been banned for life. This was after she tested positive for the banned steroid drostanolone, the Bulgarian athletics federation said."

"The Prime Minister of Jamaica has reassured the World Anti-Doping Agency that drug testing of the sports stars of the country will be a top priority."

"The frontline in the battle against doping lies a long way from the floodlit stadiums in which athletes ply their trade. This is the world of dawn knocks waking reluctant athletes who start their day by weeing into a bottle in front of a stranger wearing plastic gloves and flourishing an anti-doping ID card."

"UCI President Brian Cookson speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. Cycling's governing body and the World Anti-Doping Agency have an agreement on an independent commission to look into the sport's drug-stained past, and Lance Armstrong will be invited to take part, UCI President Brian Cookson told The Associated Press. Photo: Themba Hadebe, AP"

"Croatia's Marin Cilic has been suspended for nine months after testing positive for a banned stimulant. According to an announcement by the International Tennis Federation, the ban rules him out until 1 February 2014."

"The Indian government has announced that the Arjuna Award for 2013 will not be conferred on Renjith Maheshwari, the triple jump national record holder, after it determined that he was found to have used a "scheduled" substance, ephedrine, during the 46th National Athletic Championships at Kochi in Kerala in 2008."

"For drug cheaters from countries like the United States and Britain, nations with well-funded and relatively efficient antidoping agencies, that means big trouble. Under the new World Anti-Doping Code, which would take effect in 2015, the ban for athletes who intentionally use performance-enhancing drugs will double, jumping to four years from two. That penalty ensures that any athlete whose deliberate doping leads to a positive test will miss an Olympic Games."

"Lance Armstrong has questioned the validity of cycling's inquiry into doping and complained that he has "experienced massive personal loss … while others have truly capitalised on this story". "Do I think that this process has been good for cycling?" he said in a interview. "No. I don't think our sport has been served well by going back 15 years."

"Selena Gomez, the former Disney darling, is said to be heartbroken with the recent behavior of ex boyfriend Justin Bieber but seems to be glad she hasn't been sucked into all the drama. The 21-year-old singer is extremely busy this year releasing her debut solo album 'Stars Dance' and is finding it hard to ignore the latest partying antics of it hard to ignore the latest partying antics of Bieber."

"Dr Paul Wright told the BBC that the Caribbean island's anti-doping regime had been woefully short of the international standards required. His comments come a week after the World Anti-Doping Agency visited Jamaica to investigate claims that the country's athletes were not being tested rigorously enough."

"The former tennis world no. 9 Marin Cilic has remarked that he will make an appeal against a nine-month doping ban imposed on him after he tested positive for the banned stimulant nikethamide."

"An athlete in the sport of wrestling, has tested positive for a prohibited substance and accepted an eight-month suspension for his doping offense, according to an announcement by the United States Anti-Doping Agency."

"US rider Chris Horner who became the oldest cyclist to win the Vuelta a España, has missed a random doping test after the Spanish Anti-Doping Agency (AEPSAD) officials went to a wrong hotel looking for the newly crowned Vuelta a España champion, according to his team RadioShack."

"World number two Novak Djokovic has slammed tennis's anti-doping program after his fellow Viktor Troicki was banned for missing a drugs test."

"The Russian drug-testing lab for February's Winter Olympics in Sochi faces suspension unless it significantly improves the reliability of its results by Dec. 1. The World Anti-Doping Agency has provisionally suspended the Moscow Antidoping Center on Sunday, saying its operations must improve or a six-month ban on the facility's accreditation will be imposed."

"Former UCI president Hein Verbruggen has questioned the credibility of now-banned cyclist Lance Armstrong after the rider implicated the Dutchman in covering up doping at the 1999 Tour de France."

"Usain Bolt, world's most famous athlete, has called for an end to false allegations about the doping problems of Jamaica after he revealed that a would-be sponsor pulled plug on endorsement deal."

"A strong statement about the IAAF view of the new WADA Code to the 2013 World Conference on Doping in Sport organized by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in Johannesburg was delivered by Abby Hoffman, an IAAF Council Member and a Member of the IAAF's Medical and Anti-Doping Commission."