Controversial Springbok five-eighth Jantjies facing career oblivion after massive drug suspension

It's pretty accepted she was doped up. Like the Chinese swimmers, the East Germans of the 70s-80s. Some of those records still stand - eg 400 & 800 (OK the 800 was a Czech).

Its not whispers ..Its been a acknowledged problem here in SA ...Its a very loud discussion ...This is good ...Because I can assure you its not been swepped under the carpet.....A lot of effort is being made to address it..

Not sure if thats sarcastic or not ...But just because the two players highlighted , one a black South African the other a Coloured tested positive now gives the World a general trend just ridiculous..Cheating in anything is not ever confined to any culture ..Its calked a human frailty.Except Kiwis who apparantly are unique :laughing:

James there is testing but remember there are tens of thousands of players ..But the majority are still minors so even if a positive result the culprits name cannot be revealed publicly . Its a minor offence ..Even for murder minors get this protection .So the deterrent effect is neutralised..Also to test a minor you better have your I’s dotted and T’s crossed…Or you could end up on the wrong side of the Law ..The problem is not the kids its the system ….

It is the drug that left a shadow over the death, at 38, of Florence Griffith-Joyner. The American died in 1998 after an apparent heart seizure in her sleep. Flo-Jo had transformed her body in her mid-20s, and was later accused of using HGH. Her post-mortem showed signs of excessive growth of organs, including her heart, which contributed to her death and may have been a direct result of drug use. HGH can cause acromegalia in adults. This is a condition where many of the body organs enlarge, and the bones of the skull, face, hands and feet become thicker, causing a gorilla-like look.

A year after winning the 100 and 200m in Seoul, Flo-Jo was accused by a fellow American sprinter, Darrell Robinson, in a paid interview with a German magazine, of taking HGH. He claimed she had asked him to find out the cost of HGH. When he later told her it was $2,000, she allegedly replied: "If you want to make a million dollars, you've got to invest a couple of thousand." He said he bought the HGH from a bodybuilder in Los Angeles and that one evening he slipped the drugs into Flo-Jo's training bag after being paid with 20 $100 bills.

Hoy - schoolboys don't get tested, so how will they get caught?

It's not quite as easy as that now. Back then yes. The PED makers were ahead of the testing. But now with the biological passports etc it is harder to beat the system. Many useful PEDs (esp the peptides like the ones AFL players were taking) are out of your system within 24-48 hours, so you have to be a bit unlucky for the testers to knock on your door during that window. If they do, you don't answer the door, and that is 1 whereabouts violation. Or when you are in that high risk window, you stay somewhere else and cop the violation. It takes 3 violations for a suspension. If you are a tester and they are not there one day, you go again the next day.

I wouldn't say gaming he system, most PEDs are to help recovery, add lean muscle, shred fat etc. They aren't needed during matches. Then you get stimulants etc to help during a performance.

Yes all I would note is that probably people of Dutch Descent are not one group that comes to mind when utilizing Roids in SA.

If you look at the Fiji , Samoan, Tonga teams you see the same thing ….Some cultural groups are just genetically superior physically ..Thats just obvious if you walk down the streets of Lagos where every second person looks like a bodybuilder ….Growing up in SA from primary school the Afrikaans boys were always bigger and stronger across board same age than the rest of us ..Even previous decades prior to PEDs ever existing Boks were bigger and stronger than other teams ..Its not a necessary indication of drug abuse at all.

School boy rugby in South Africa is unlike anything else in the World ..Its massive ..Young kids from early teens come under huge pressure from peers , family , coaches to perform. The admiration even hero worshipping if succesful can be seductive for young boys….Its understandable that some may be tempted …Risk and reward .Here the answer isn’t testing ..As these are not proffesional sportsmen the anti doping agencies are reluctant to spend too many resources best spent elsewhere..So its up to the schools but again financing , legal compliances etc. all complicate things ( a single test is very pricey )..So the only answer is education of both kids and parents. ( PEDs are also expensive and that money comes from somewhere ) ..I know individual schools are taking this very seriously as is SA Rugby….In reality only a tiny percentage of all schoolboy players will actually turn pro ..So the health risks seem so senseless …But there will always be a few Im afraid ..

After her death the Chairman of the IOC admitted that she came under rigorous scrutiny yet only ever came up clean ..It was only post mortem that evidence of massive growth hormone abuse was suspected ...At the time HGH almost impossible to detect ..Today there are screenings for it but for every new test developed , there are scientists looking to tweak chemical formulas to stay shead of the anti doping agencies ....Therein lies the problem..If you have money and resources and a smart medical technician you can get away with it ...So question ..If hypothetically speaking we have two Olympic Games ..One for clean athletes and one where any PEDs are permitted ..Which do you think fans will want to watch ? ..Its a philosophical poser..

BF now this would be pouring fuel on fire, “ Imagine that if one particular race/community started to show a large amount of positives then people would start screaming racism etc.”

Hoy I think you have to live there to understand. I was completely shocked when my SAF mates were telling me of these stories. It’s turning the blind eye so long as the wins come was my interpretation. For the kids it is a way out of a very bad place.

This is an example of how to game the system. I expect that if they tests more regularly in the off season that more players across the world will test positive. The impulsive players such as Jantjies are l less calculated and sophisticated and are often caught out.

If you never find a positive in a highly competitive environment it could be that every single player is clean (highly unlikely) or that the players worked out a way to game the system and avoid a positive result (far more likely). It is good to find the rare positive result.

…majority is clean… A majority is just more than 50%. I think that is a bit harsh as the Bok elite players are regularly tested and that those that tests positive are the rare exception. Any environment that is highly competitive, where you have personalities like Jantjies and where the testing regime could be perceived as weak…there will be players will attempt to cut corners. When you have a strong testing regime you should find the occasional transgressor, if not there could be something wrong with your testing regime or the players may have found a way to game the system. The focus should always be on educating players to make good choices. The occasional positive test demonstrates that the testing system works.

I keep hearing about SA school boys and enhancement... where does that news keep coming from? If the whispers are turning to open discussion, where does it all come from? You don't hear too many getting caught... It doesn't add up really.

No one is silly enough to take PEDs when travelling overseas for games. It’s during training blocks you take them. Credit to the SA anti doping agency though.