Canadian triathlete star Simon Whitfield, a two-time Olympic medalist, said he expected doping would again be a big issue at the upcoming Vancouver Winter Olympics, but called the method of testing "strange".
Speaking in the Vancouver suburb of White Rock on Wednesday where he was making a personal appearance for children at an ice rink, Whitfield, the inaugural triathlon gold medalist at the 2000 Sydney Games and a silver medalist last year in Beijing, said the cheats would always be there but they "were coming up with more and more creative ways" to dope.
"It?s a bit of a strange system. You have a guy in cycling right now who is going to serve a two-year ban for inadvertently taking something in a supplement. He?s serving more time than a guy who blatantly cheated with the latest and greatest doping products."
Whitfield was referring to top cyclist Tom Zirbel who announced Sunday he had tested positive for the banned substance Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and would now have to face a US Anti-doping Agency hearing to determine his fate.
The 31-year-old American time-trial specialist claimed he would never knowingly take a banned substance but had inadvertently taken the banned steroid through a contaminated supplement.
"The system is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination," said the Victoria-based Whitfield, who was tested twice for drugs in Beijing. "As an athlete it is absolutely nerve-wracking to see how it all unfolds."
The 34-year-old Whitfield, who won the Elite Cup Triathlon in Iowa in June for the 200,000 US dollar first prize, confirmed he would be present in London for the 2012 Games, his fourth Olympiad. He was confident he would be competitive despite facing increasingly younger competition.
"Absolutely. I have a real joy for it. When I was 20 years old I felt like I was 16 competing against 20 years olds. (In London) I will be 37 and I feel like I have the benefit of years of being a little less mature than the other guys," he said with a laugh. "I?ll definitely be able to compete. I enjoy it so I?m not too concerned."
The boyish-looking Whitfield, the first person to carry the Olympic torch when it was brought to Canada from Greece on October 30, marking the start of 4,500 kilometers journey around the country, called his 2010 schedule "casual", adding he would be hosting a couple of events. He also said he would return to Maui, Hawaii, in the new year to resume training.
Copyright 2009 AFP Global Edition
