Dwain Chambers will today hand over a letter to UK Sport from Victor Conte, which explains what drugs he was using, when he was using them and how he was avoiding the testing procedures.

Dear Dwain,

Per your request, this letter is to confirm I am willing to assist you in providing UK Sport and others with information that will help them to improve the effectiveness of their anti-doping programs.

The specific details regarding how you were able to circumvent the British and IAAF anti-doping tests for an extended period of time are provided below.

Your performance enhancing drug program included the following seven prohibited substances: THG, testosterone/epitestosterone cream, EPO (Procrit), HGH (Serostim), insulin (Humalog), modafinil (Provigil) and liothryonine, which is a synthetic form of the T3 thyroid hormone (Cytomel).

THG is a previously undetectable designer steroid nicknamed "the clear." It was primarily used in the off season and was taken two days per week, typically on Mondays and Wednesdays. Generally, these were the two most intense weight-training days of the week. The purpose was to accelerate healing and tissue repair. Thirty units (IU) of the liquid was place under the tongue during the morning time-frame. THG was used in cycles of "three weeks on and one week off."

Testosterone/epitestosterone cream was also primarily used during the off season. It was rubbed into the skin on the front of the forearm two days per week, typically Tuesdays and Thursdays. The dosage was ½ gram which contained 50mg of testosterone and 2.5mg of epitestosterone (20 to 1 ratio). The purpose was to offset the suppression of endogenous testosterone caused by the use of the THG and to accelerate recovery. The testosterone/epitestosterone cream was also used in cycles of three weeks on and one week off.

EPO was used three days per week during the "corrective phase", which is the first two weeks of a cycle. Typically, it was on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It was only used once per week during the "maintenance phase" thereafter, typically this was every Wednesday. The dosage was 4,000 IU per injection. The purpose was to increase the red blood cell count and enhance oxygen uptake and utilization. This substance provides a big advantage to sprinters because it enables them to do more track repetitions and obtain a much deeper training load during the off season. EPO becomes undetectable about 72 hours after subcutaneous injection (stomach) and only 24 hours after intravenous injection.

HGH was used three nights per week, typically on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Each injection would contain 4.5 units of growth hormone. Once again, this substance was used primarily during the off season to help with recovery from very strenuous weight training sessions.

Insulin was used after strenuous weight training sessions during the off season. Three units of Humalog (fast-acting insulin) were injected immediately after the workout sessions together with a powdered drink that contained 30 grams of dextrose, 30 grams of whey protein isolates and 3 grams of creatine. The purpose was to quickly replenish glycogen, resynthesize ATP and promote protein synthesis and muscle growth. Insulin acts as a "shuttle system" in the transport of glucose and branch chain amino acids. There is no test available for insulin at this time.

Modafinil was used as a "wakefulness promoting" agent before competitions. The purpose was to decrease fatigue and enhance mental alertness and reaction time. A 200mg tablet was consumed one hour before competition.

Liothryonine was used help accelerate the basic metabolic rate before competitions. The purpose was to reduce sluggishness and increase quickness. Two 25mg tablets were taken one hour before competition. There is no test available for liothryonine at this time.

In general terms, explosive strength athletes, such as sprinters, use anabolic steroids, growth hormone, insulin and EPO during the off season. They use these drugs in conjunction with an intense weight training program, which helps to develop a strength base that will serve them throughout the competitive season. Speed work is done just prior to the start of the competitive season.

It is important to understand it is not really necessary for athletes to have access to designer anabolic steroids such as THG. They can simply use fast-acting testosterone (oral as well as creams and gels) and still easily avoid the testers. For example, oral testosterone will clear the system in less than a week and testosterone creams and gels will clear even faster.

Many drug-tested athletes use what I call the "duck and dodge" technique. Several journalists in the UK have recently referred to it as the "duck and dive" technique. This is basically how it works.

First, the athlete repeatedly calls their own cell phone until the message capacity is full. This way the athlete can claim to the testers that they didn't get a message when they finally decide to make themselves available. Secondly, they provide incorrect information on their whereabouts form. They say they are going to one place and then go to another. Thereafter, they start using testosterone, growth hormone and other drugs for a short cycle of two to three weeks.

After the athlete discontinues using the drugs for a few days and they know that they will test clean, they become available and resume training at their regular facility.

Most athletes are tested approximately two times each year on a random out-of -competition basis. If a tester shows up and the athlete is not where they are supposed to be, then the athlete will receive a "missed test". This is the equivalent to receiving "strike one" when up to bat in a baseball game. The current anti-doping rules allow an athlete to have two missed tests in any given eighteen-month period without a penalty or consequence. So, the disadvantage for an athlete having a missed test is that they have one strike against them. The advantage of that missed test is the athlete has now received the benefit of a cycle of steroids. Long story short, an athlete can continue to duck and dive until they have two missed tests, which basically means that they can continue to use drugs until that time.

In summary, it's my opinion that more than fifty percent of the drug tests performed each year should be during the off season or the fourth quarter. This is when the track athletes are duckin' and divin' and using anabolic steroids and other drugs. Let me provide some rather startling information for your consideration. If you check the testing statistics on the USADA website, you will find that the number of out-of-competition drug tests performed during each quarter of 2007 are as follows: in the first quarter there were 1208, second quarter 1295, third quarter 1141 and in the fourth quarter there were only 642.

In late 2003 I advised USADA about the importance of random testing during the fourth quarter of the year. They did initially seem to follow my advice because they increased the number of fourth-quarter tests in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

However, they failed to continue this practice in 2007. Why would USADA decide to perform only 15% of their annual out-of-competition tests during the fourth quarter? Let's not forget that this is the off season before the upcoming summer Olympic Games. This is equivalent to a fisherman knowing that the fish are ready to bite and then consciously deciding that it is time to reel in his line and hook, lean his fishing pole up against a tree and take a nap.

On several occasions, I have provided detailed information to both USADA and WADA in an attempt to help them establish more effective testing policies and procedures.

I certainly have more information that I would like the opportunity to provide to you and UK Sport, but I will leave that for another time.

Hopefully, this information will be helpful and I am available to assist you further upon request.

Yours sincerely,

Victor Conte

If one looks at Borg v Lendl (2 supposed great athletes of all time) 1981 FO final 5th set on youtube and compare that with any 5 setter nowadays, one might be shocked! Either there has meen an amazing genetical evolution of the human race in the last 20 years....or they are all using very good supplements (legal or not, in fact it does not really matter). There is certainly a parallel race going on in every physical sport.

I still think that Rafael Nadal is on something.

:huh: umm....you may want to elaborate there hun.... :wacko:

I'm the biggest cynic when it comes to drugs in sport - having been a cycling fan since i could speak it's had a fairly detrimental effect on my views. I'm now watching other sports having exactly the same problems that cycling has been villified for years. it wouldn't surprise me in the least if some tennis players were taking some stuff (but that's just 'cos i'm eternally cynical.....) but I do think it probably helps less in tennis than it does in pure strength/endurance sports. It might help them keep going for longer, but it's not going to ensure that they hit that forehand right down the line...... :shrug:

But tennis really has now become a sheer physical sport . This is why it is being affected by drug as well, no doubt. I don't want to find excuses for the french players but clearly someone like Gasquet has stalled in my view because he hasn't put on as much muscle mass as the others of his generation. why? It's a good question but it could be the same reasons why the French are not doing well in cycling. The French antidoping org is pretty well organised with high tech labs and can test their racers and athletes in general on regular basis. They set up all that because of our cycling racers caught 10 years ago during the tour. Since then we haven't won a thing on the tour while the other countries get all the cups. I would not only suspect the best tennis players but most. However, when it comes to doping some are really pros and can get the edge over others.

oh, it wouldn't surprise me at all if some tennis players were doping- but like i said, i think there's probably doping goes on in a lot of sports. I don't think it's just about muscle mass either, i suspect blood doping goes on as well just for the endurance (oddly enough do you know who the biggest critic was of them bringing in tests for blood doping and EPO in tennis? Marat Safin :blink: and of course the doctor at the centre of the Operacion Puerto case stated that a third of his clients were tennis players....although i'd like to point out that nothing was ever proven)

I think what's telling about Conte's letter though - and the effects of it should reverberate through all sports - is that it's damn easy to beat the drug testers. in cycling people are getting caught year after year and it's killing the sport, but to some extent it means that the drug testers are finally catching up with the athletes, which is only a good thing IMHO. And the French are pretty good at it now - although that's possibly because the shock of golden boy Richard Virenque being caught spurred them in to action...... :wacko:

Yes Virenque is what started them off.

You right the letter says clearly that's very easy to avoid being caught. I do believe the revelation of operation puerto (1/3 of his customers were tennis players) is true but it was suffocated to save the sport. As said earlier, the way players can go on nowadays for 5 sets is not real!

Uhh, After reading about US baseball players Mark McGwire & Barry Bonds & their "alleged" steroid use I got to thinking about how huge their arms were. Now everytime I see somebody with well developed arm muscles I start to wonder if they are natural or not.

Just to play devils advocate here :devil:
why maintain the prohibition, if it isn't working anyway?
If drugs are wrong because they give someone an unfair advantage, then what about access to state of the art training facilities which some athletes have and some don't-couldn't that be construed as an unfair advantage?
And the argument that enhancement drugs are dangerous is a non starter-many sports are dangerous-eg boxing, if drugs were legal they could be more closely monitered and regulated, so at least athletes would be able to use then in a better informed and relatively safer way.

yes the unfair advantage is the main argument. All sports would become team sports like F1 is. The best car wins regardless of who is at the wheel. It becomes a competition between labs, not athletes and I am not sure I 'd be very interested in that.

Ideally athletes should have a moral ethic preventing them from cheating. They ususally do but because there is money and above all some do cheat, the others simply follow cause there is no point for a pro athlete to be fighting versus some who cheat.

So the solution is to get back to the amateur era. This would considerably cut down the drug race.

very utopic I agree but can't think of anything else.

I agree,
and while things will never be perfect USADA and WADA need to tighten things up-testing in the off season etc,

It's a good point BT and in some sports you kind of almost feel like it is a battle between labs rather than between athletes - your only saving grace is that you know that they're all on them so it's probably pretty even. :shrug: As Tenez said, there's the issue for sponsors of how many people would actually want to watch a sport that is chemically enhanced (look at the number of sponsors pulling out of cycling - even lance armstrong couldn't persuade discovery to stay). Also, i'm not entirely sure how much fun watching people compete in a sport until they drop dead would be........ :unsure:

Exactly DJ, I thought i'ld throw the pro drug point in as a kind of spanner in the works.
Ultimately we enjoy sport because it's about human prowesses in competition,
as you suggest, once we assume we're watching pharmacological achievement, the game is over-literally and metaphorically.

Well, they'd get new sponsors! Glaxo, Bayer, Ciba Geigy! to name a few! ;)

:lmaao:

I also think one of the reasons that they don't just legalise them in sport, is the kind of message it sends to young people, not just about drugs in sport but also in wider society. :shrug:

indeed!