More Photos from Chile

The Big, Bad, "D" Word...

Last month I was having lunch with Linsey Corbin and a couple of her sponsors in San Diego. The issue of drugs and sport came up, and of course a long-winded conversation followed. Linsey is a big proponent or ramping up testing in triathlon and she remarked that she was pissed she wasn't tested in Kona. Upon hearing that the fifth-place finisher at the sport's biggest race didn't receive even a urine test, I was a little ticked too. Not because I have any suspicions about Linsey herself, but the principle of not testing triathlon's top dogs at triathlon's marquee event is troubling. It makes me think it'd be a little too easy to get away with.

Before I go any further, I'd like it to be known that I don't think drug use runs rampant among triathletes. Triathlon has a much different culture from drug-riddled sports (cycling, track, bodybuilding (not that it's a sport), baseball). It's about the lifestyle as much (or more) as it's about competition and I like to believe MOST triathletes believe in a healthy lifestyle.

Among those at the lunch was Glynn Turquand from XTERRA Wetsuits. He too was shocked to hear of the lack of testing on the Big Island, and decided to do a little research. For the top five women, here's what he found...

1. Chrissie Wellington: Blood and urine test
2. Yvonne Van Vlerken: Urine only
3. Sandra Wallenhorst: Urine only (according to what she told another athlete)
4. Erika Csomor: We don't know yet
5. Linsey Corbin: No tests

Now, drug testing (especially blog tests) are extremely expensive, and until they become cheaper, we'll likely never see the amount of testing needed to ensure the sport is as clean as can be. However, this news has intrigued me, so I'm looking into learn a bit more. Look for more to come on this blog, on triathletemag.com and in our mag.

If you've got any triathlon drug testing info you're eager to share, feel free to shoot me an e-mail (bculp@competitorgroup.com)

Photos from Pucon, Chile

Random $hit About Chile

I'm all for popping sleeping pills during trans-continental, red-eye flights. As such, I indulged in a unisom before leaving Dallas for Santiago Chile last night, but it didn't seem to work as advertised. Maybe it was because I had a behemoth of a Chilean sitting next to me, and at one point he actually head-butted me while he was seizuring in his sleep. At any rate, instead of making me tired, the unisom just made me hallucinate for 12 hours. Here's what I observed in my first six hours in Chile, while high on OTC sleeping pills (by the way, I'm here to "cover" Pucon 70.3).

1. Chilean urnals are all really high, which couldn't possibly make any less sense. There's no way to not pee on yourself. It's not like the Chilean people are abnormally tall. In fact, they're quite the opposite. When was the last time you saw a Chilean playing center in the NBA?

2. The American dollar still kicks ass down here. In fact, since I've been too lazy (and high on unisom) to venture to a currency exchange, I've been buying everything with American dollars and the clerks thank me at least a dozen times.

3. The highways are riddled with billboards and yet they're all hand-painted. I can't imagine how long that takes. An East L.A. "tagger" could make a killing down here.

4. More stereotyping: Chilean drivers make British drivers seem passive. Apparently they watch NASCAR in Chile, because these people can bump draft better than Dale Jr.

That's all for now. I'll check in soon. Hopefully after a nap.