They're the three letters that have rocked the foundation of pro and amateur sports of late.
THG, short for tetrahydrogestrinone, is a new steroid at the centre of a major controversy that threatens to turn the sports world on its ear. Cheating athletes, anxious to stay one step ahead of sports authorities and governing bodies, began using the previously undetected steroid in order to beat drug tests, giving them an unfair advantage.
THG would have remained sports' dirty little secret had it not been for the actions of an unidentified insider who blew the whistle. Now, because of that person's actions, tetrahydrogestrinone is the one word on the lips of everybody in the sports world.
The players in this sordid tale of cheating and corruption include countless pro and amateur athletes, an anonymous track and field coach, the International Olympic Committee, the United States Anti Doping Agency, the World Anti-Doping Agency, a U.S. federal grand jury in San Francisco, and a California-based nutritional supplement laboratory called BALCO.
Trace the progression of the ongoing THG controversy with the extensive timeline below:
June, 2003: The United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA) is tipped off by a high ranking track and field coach who gives the USADA the names of athletes using a new undetectable steroid. The coach later sends the USADA a used syringe containing traces of the substance to back up his claim.
July/August, 2003: Professor Don Catlin, head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)-accredited anti doping lab at UCLA, studies the new drug and determines it's a designer steroid, modified to escape detection in normal laboratory testing. Sensing a major conspiracy, the USADA come up with a test for the new drug and starts to retest 550 stored urine samples. Samples collected at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in June are analyzed, with six samples eventually testing positive for the drug now dubbed THG, or tetrahydrogestrinone. The anonymous track and field coach fingers Bay Area Laboratory Co Operative, a nutritional supplements lab, and its founder Victor Conte, as the source of THG.
Sept. 5, 2003: The house of Greg Anderson, a personal trainer who counts San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds among his clients, is raided by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and an accompanying drug task force. It's later revealed that Anderson supplied Bonds with nutritional shake supplements made by BALCO. Days later, BALCO's offices in Burlingame, California are raided by USADA officials, IRS agents and the San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force.
Oct. 16, 2003: The USADA first tells the world about THG. "What we have uncovered appears to be intentional doping of the worst sort," says USADA chief executive officer Terry Madden. "This is a far cry from athletes accidentally testing positive as a result of taking contaminated nutritional supplements. Rather, this is a conspiracy involving chemists, coaches and certain athletes using what they developed to be 'undetectable' designer steroids to defraud their fellow competitors and the American and world public who pay to attend sports events."
Oct. 20, 2003: Up to 40 Olympic and professional athletes, including Barry Bonds, boxer Shane Mosley and 100 metre world-record holder Tim Montgomery, are subpoenaed by a U.S. federal grand jury in San Francisco. The grand jury is investigating BALCO for tax evasion and laundering payments from athletes in exchange for prohibited performance-enhancing substances. American shot putter Kevin Toth becomes the first athlete publicly linked with THG.
CBC Sports Online: Bonds asked to testify at BALCO inquiry
Oct. 22, 2003: British sprinter and European 100 metre champion Dwain Chambers becomes the first athlete to admit testing positive for THG. Craig Masback, the chief executive officer for USA Track and Field, confirms that four American athletes have tested positive for THG.
CBC Sports Online: Chambers admits testing positive for THG
Oct. 23, 2003: The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport announces it will begin testing for THG. Paul Melia, the centre's chief executive officer, revealed it will not only analyze new samples but also samples the centre has already tested for other drugs.
CBC Sports Online: Canada gets tough in THG
Oct. 24, 2003: The IOC announces it will add THG to the list of banned substances included in its drug tests for the 2004 Athens Olympics. The NFL unveils plans to recheck players' drug tests for THG, and the International Ski Federation announces it will test for the drug in the upcoming season.
CBC Sports Online: IOC, NFL to test for THG
Oct. 25, 2003: The World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) recommends that all international sports federations and all anti doping federations should analyze any stored urine samples for THG. "A pro-active approach in this matter is crucial," says WADA's director general, David Howman.
Oct. 28, 2003: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration formally declares THG an illegal steroid, not a dietary supplement.
Nov. 5, 2003: FINA, swimming's international governing body, says it will retest all 312 urine samples from the world championships held in July in Barcelona. The IOC and WADA officially ban THG, and will test for the substance both within and between competitions.
CBC Sports Online: FINA retesting world samples for THG
Nov. 16, 2003: Four members of the Oakland Raiders (linebacker Bill Romanowski, centre Barret Robbins and defensive tackles Dana Stubblefield and Chris Cooper) reportedly test positive for THG. They immediately face a four-game suspension but, four days later, the NFL reveals it will delay any suspension until the 2004 season for players who test positive for THG.
CBC Sports Online: Four Raiders test positive for THG
Dec. 3, 2003: Retests of all the samples from swimming's world championships come back negative for THG.
Dec. 4, 2003: The IOC gets the go ahead to retest athletes' urine samples for THG from the 2002 Winter Games after its executive board determines there are no legal or scientific obstacles to re screening the frozen samples. Barry Bonds testifies before the San Francisco grand jury investigating BALCO.
CBC Sports Online: IOC to retest Winter Olympic samples for THG
Dec. 12, 2003: Five time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong says he doubts positive THG tests would be found among cyclists.
Dec. 13, 2003: Boxer Shane Mosley, baseball's Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield, and NFLers Bill Romanowski and Barret Robbins appear before the San Francisco federal grand jury.
Jan. 17, 2004: The US Olympic Committee confirms that Regina Jacobs, the world indoor 1,500m record-holder, has tested positive for THG.
May 17, 2004: The U.S.
Anti-Doping Agency says its reviewing documents in the BALCO steroids
case to determine whether there's enough evidence to sanction athletes
without a positive drug test. Star sprinter Marion Jones threatens
legal action if the USDA bars her from competing at the Athens Olympics.
CBC
Sports Online: Marion Jones threatens lawsuit if kept out of Olympics
