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Age group triathletes want drug testing

Anti doping efforts to make age group racing clean

Age group triathletes at IRONMAN Mont-Tremblant.

On ipetitions.com, Rudolphe Von Berg petitions to IRONMAN to get drug testing in age group competition at the world championship level (full and 70.3 races). Requesting that the top three age group athletes be tested, as well as all age group winners.

Endurance sports are tough. Sadly, in professional and amateur sports, athletes will look to additional means to enhance their training and racing. Fair and clean racing should not just be the standard in professional racing, but also age group competitions.

Triathlon requires a lot of sacrifice of time and money to compete. There isn’t a lot of money in triathlon compared to other sports, so the driving force should be the pure joy of racing. As racing times improve in both the pro and amateur IRONMAN fields, drug testing in both divisions will make sure to keep triathletes accountable to the values of the sport.

Don’t think doping is an issue in triathlon? Earlier this year, Kevin Moats, a 60-64 age group triathlete accepted an eight-year ban from triathlon following a positive test for exogenous testosterone at the IRONMAN World Championship. This was not his first offence (his first in 2012). Then there is Fernando Luis Pelcastre Rabanal, last year’s Ironman world champion in the 18 to 24 age group. In a pre-competition drug test, he tested positive for testosterone.