Bode Miller says he has been singled out for extra drug testing

By Published On: November 26th, 2005Comments Off on Bode Miller says he has been singled out for extra drug testing

Bode Miller says he has been singled out for extra drug testingReigning overall World Cup champion Bode Miller extended his verbal assault on the sporting world’s anti-doping agencies on Friday, telling reporters that he has been singled out for surprise drug tests since he began his campaign against current drug-testing policies.

‘Since I started talking out about the idea, I’ve been randomly tested three times, and nobody else on my team has been tested more than once’ Miller said on Friday. ‘I missed one of those tests because I was about three hours down the road, driving to New York.’

Penalties are applied to athletes who repeatedly miss tests.

Miller said it reminds him of 2002-03, when he says he was tested so many times that he had his lawyer threaten legal action against the anti-doping authorities.

On Friday Miller said authorities had sprung drug tests on him on three consecutive weekends in late October and early November, while he was in the United States. Miller missed the second of these tests, having left for New York City when an anti-doping agent arrived at his New Hampshire home to collect a sample.

‘I hadn’t notified them in about three months as to where I would be, but I was two hours off three months in advance’ Miller said.

Athletes competing in Olympic sports are required to notify anti-doping agencies of their whereabouts at all times so that the agencies (such as the World Anti-Doping Agency and United States Anti-Doping Agency) can show up unannounced, in-season or out. The FIS also conducts drug testing.

Miller has been lashing out at anti-doping rules for two months. His first arguments were that some performance-enhancing drugs enhance racer safety. He elaborated on that at the World Cup opening three weeks later. Since then, his comments have drawn diverse and plentiful responses from AJ Kitt, Pernilla Wiberg and FIS president Gian Franco Kasper.

The FIS abides by the guidelines of the World Anti-Doping Code, which seeks to standardize policies across sports and nations. Section 5.1.3. of the code refer to ‘target testing.’

‘Target testing is specified because random target testing, or even weighted random testing, does not ensure that all of the appropriate athletes will be tested. (For example: world-class athletes whose performances have dramatically improved over a short period of time, athletes whose coaches have had other athletes test positive, etc.).’

All Miller can say is that the drug testing he undergoes both in surprise collections and standard postrace tests feels invasive to him.

“It’s incredibly insulting to be drug tested over and over and over again,” he said. “Your pride is important, and when people come up to you any time and tell you you have to pull down your pants to your knees and piss in a cup.”

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About the Author: Pete Rugh