Rathy... damn...!
 

:Canadian wakeboard medallist tests positive for banned substance
at Pan Am Games
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
GUADALAJARA, Mexico -- Pan American Games officials say Canadian
wakeboard silver medallist Aaron Rathy has tested positive for a
banned substance.
Officials say the wakeboarder from Nanaimo, B.C., tested positive
for the stimulant methylhexaneamine and his medal had been
withdrawn.
Games officials say the Canadian delegation was being informed
about the positive test.
In November 2010, Canada's doping watchdog warned athletes that
supplements containing methylhexaneamine were "widely available in
the Canadian market and have been the source of many doping
violations worldwide over the last year."


This is sad.... maybe he did this to recover faster after his last injury... I don't know!

Or like it says... bad supplements!

The most jacked professional wakeboarder on the planet tests positive for a banned substance, but it isn't a steroid/HGH. Why would Rathy want to take a stimulant? How would it help him recover from injury or perform better as a wakeboarder?

so true

A little test boost never hurt anyone... :)

This is retarded. It is basically a dietary supplement, and is similar to caffeine. This stuff is not always listed as an active ingredient. It can be listed as dmaa instead. But rules are rules i guess.

What the **** is that supposed to mean? Got any proof before you start spraying ****?

I agree. Rules are rules, even in wakeboarding. Sucks for Rathy, but it's his responsibility to make sure he knows what he's ingesting if he wants to compete in the Pan Ams.

I think you're trying to read too into something that isn't there, so that you can get pissed at it and accuse.

I could care less, I just wanna see the 1080's

Ya, Adam, you missed my point. I'm not insinuating that Rathy is doing 'roids/HGH. I was just saying how surprised I was when I did some research and found out about what he was caught for.

I'm not going to freak out over this. Rathy obviously is in excellent physical shape, and I'd bet he probably takes some dietary supplements like, i dunno, almost every other athlete out there, multivitamins, protein... etc. Methylhexaneamine has been FDA approved for over 15 years for use in food. As was mentioned above, it runs very similar profile to Caffeine, and that said, is more than likely a component in quite a few different fat burning products. Not to mention, who knows what's slammed into all the random energy drinks and things we all drink. The only thing that would help clarify some of this report would be to know the blood concentration violation level that is allowed by the WADA and know what Rathy's level was. I don't see them giving out the test results. Even caffeine is banned in a certain concentration by the IOC. And like was also said above, who knows what medications he may or may not be on for his knee. It's a tricky thing man!

It makes me think about a old situation like this one. Do you know Chris Sharma? He's IMO one of the strongest and complete rock climber in the world but like a lot of other climbers, he's kind of hippie and smokes weed. The federation declare THC as a steroid because of him! He was wining every competitions at this time. THC = steroids ...WHAT??? They said that it gives him a some fear and pain inhibitions.... ok! But is it makes a true difference? Same thing for Aaron. I wish he will go over this and prove he doesn't need anything to be as good as he is.... anyway, drugs doesn't give style and Rathy got some IMO!!! lol Stylish!!!!

Who cares. Banned substances are completely arbitrary. Depending on who is in charge and what the levels are, if you've drank a cup of coffee, eaten a steak or frankly ever consumed anything you've used a performance enhancing substance, and it's completely arbitrary and meaningless if it's a banned variety.

I've been around people who have taken HGH and testosterone enhancing drugs. They help, they can be administered in a safe fashion to make sports safer and injury recovery quicker, and I will certainly use them to recover from an injury in my lifetime, no doubt.

I am disappointed with the reporting of this issue over the headline that Andrew brought home the very first wakeboard Gold Metal for USA at Pan American Games. I'm hoping that maybe David was requested to run an apology quickly before the regular press release about Pan American Games.

It is unfortunate what happened and I respect Aaron's apology. I think he handled the aftermath well and wish him the best.

In the wake of the IOC putting cable wakeboard on the shortlist for 2020 Olympics combined with the IWWF Vision 2020 plan, all riders can expect to see more tests within our sport. If the snowboarders can do it, we can too. We can and should do it without any bashing even if we stumble along the way.

If you are a USA athlete and you have any questions about above rules please contact me personally. These rules will be in effect at 2012 USA Nationals as we will be selecting TEAM USA to the World Championships in Philippines Nov 1

The current status of drug testing is a joke IMO, they test for much more stuff than they need too and at tiny limits. Testing for coke, pot etc etc and these low level stimulants that are available over the counter does nothing to "level the playing field" but only destroys athletes careers for no good reason. Come on WADA stick to catching the real cheats getting jacked up on anabolics and blood vectoring.

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/42-au...013-1lmdh.html

I googled what he tested positive for and the first link clearly listed the exact product he failed for. He should know better. Supplements are not FDA tested and are dangerous. Most countries have banned the stimulant he failed for anyways.

R F......your joking right?

Good points, but I still feel bad for Rathy.

I am too. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get any kind of press release or reporting on the wake event other than the delayed results. It always amazes me when they spend all kinds of time and resources to promote an event and then they don't spend the effort after the event to report on the results. I guess we'll have to get on a plane and fly down there next time. There was no request to run an "apology" press release. Unfortunately, the Rathy issue was the only thing reported on from the Pan Am Games about wakeboarding. It was from the Associated Press. Yes, I thought about not running it at all, but we're really here to report on everything about wakeboarding be it good, bad or ugly, so there it is.

As far as the banned substance goes, it was simply something in a supplement he was taking and something he wasn't aware of. This stuff happens all the time, even in the NFL, usually when an ingredient is listed as something else or not listed at all in a supplement. The NFL has "approved" supplements that are guaranteed safe, but wakeboarding hasn't come that far yet. I just got off the phone with Aaron and he's devastated about the entire deal and feels really bad. It was completely inadvertent and he just wants to put it behind him. Aaron is a super cool guy with the best of intentions and I think we all know he's one of the best wakeboarders that's ever put on bindings, so I think he'll get through this just fine.

Sounds like Rathy's a class act. Good to hear.

Great post, Dave. I'm thoroughly impressed.

Addendum: Change the f*cking title of the article on the home page.

If these guys are going to ride in the olympics, they will be subject to REAL doping controls, not joke controls like we have in US baseball, basketball and football. I'm talking about the WADA/USADA controls that cyclists and other olympic athletes are required to comply with.

There are rules, don't break them. Period. If you don't take the time to learn the rules, you shouldn't play the game. Or at least shouldn't be surprised when you lose.

i remember a thing on the news a while back about a woman having her baby taken away from her at the hospital that she gave birth at because she tested "positive"
...
due to an "everything bagel" that had poppy seeds on it

she got her baby back of course, but come on.

just an example of how absurdly strict things can really get

pretty freakin stupid considering you can go into a gnc and buy it over the counter...cmon with pro wake boarders being sponsored by red bull and monster left and right...but another stimulant thats over the counter is banned? next there going to be checking for vitamin c or protein...bs.

Better not have any wakeboard comps in France then as Red Bull is banned there. Along with a few other European countries.Can you imagine reading through the long,long,long list of banned substances and then checking them against the ingredients of whatever medication or ingredients you are taking?? Probably have to employ somebody to do it otherwise you wouldn't have time to train.
Anyway what drug can you take that will make you wakeboard better??

Sorry ingredients should read supplements.

I dont ride contests that drug test :)

Seriously, none!

It is an unfortunate situation.

However, the best point made in a situation like this is "why". If you need a boost...have a cup of coffee or redbull or monster. If it was a fat burner then it really doesn't make any sense considering how much he rides. Can you imagine how many calories a guy like rathy goes through in a set?

Also, It's random supplements that put ordinarily healthy athletes in very sad situations when random heart conditions occur or are exposed because of an unneeded supplements.

IMO rathy did the right thing and it think its pretty silly what you can and cannot take, it is also silly the amount of crap they put in supplements...

that said i think youd have to be pretty stupid to do roids AND wakeboard at the level these guys are, they make your tendons and ligaments stiff/brittle and prone to injury, knees would be blowing left and right (more than they already are) with bigger wakes and more brittle knees

so do we really need to test for miniscule substances that are similar to caffeine?

So they test for illegal substances in wakeboarding?? I had no idea.

Unfortunately the future looks to be more and more of this, because, as you can see, wakeboarding in the Olympics is obviously in the wrong people's hands. The IOC needs to recognize WWA and not IWWF as the governing body. Then we'd get some follow-up coverage reported, as well as someone who is looking out for the athletes and sport, rather than their own personal needs and desires.

And the Silly-Season officially starts...Now!

When I opened this thread I was hoping for some fresh footage of Rathy killing it, bummer.

http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=786179

we've discussed this topic before.

simple j...where did you get that false information from? too much yes but the right amount would benefit. They give steroids legally to help people not hurt them.
also the WADA is out of control. their list has way too much on it. it's totally unfair.

I don't understand why most people on the board want to push for wakeboarding in the Olympics and other major venues (ie PanAm Games), but then we want to complain about the testing in these venues. I personally don't care what athletes take and don't take its on them and their families, but if we want wakeboarding in the Olympics then these guys have got to get smarter with what’s going in their body whether its performance enhancing or cough medicine.

steroids inhibit collagen synthesis, the muscles gain strength while the tendons do not. im reading a study from a peer reviewed journal article right now. steroids simply inhibit inflammation rather than accelerate healing and can do damage over time because of decreased collagen synthesis...

if im wakeboarding at level like harley im not going to take roids and risk blowing out a knee, so i dont understand why they would bother testing for steroids in a sport where flexibility and longevity is key, to me its a no brainer unless its something like the olympics...

@eubanks01, I never knew either

and LOL @ skiboarder, I originally thought the same thing as well

rule #1. dont believe everything you read. secondly there are drugs that help the steroids. I have a friend who is a doctor that works on the worlds top athletes. he told me what Marion Jones was taking in 2004. In 2007 she admitted what she took-exactly what i was told me in 2004. The fastest strongest athletes use drugs. They have been doing it forever. they continue to do it. the problem now is that the athletes use drugs like "the clear" which could not be tested for until someone gave the WADA a sample. the problem with that is ....these drugs are new and untested on the effects they have on the human body. The WADA/etc can only test for drugs they know about. if you take a drug and tweak a few molecules, its now a new drug. Another Doctor friend took the 5th when questioned in front of congress about the baseball fiasco. That being said if they tested the NBA for marijuana usage, they wouldnt have enough player to play. what Aaron took cannot and would not make him a better wake boarder. if it did, i would take it :)

okay, i wont use peer reviewed medical journal articles that share pages with other studies and experiments that have changed health care for sources next time ill just use wikipedia, such a reputable source.

Steroids can do great things, for your muscles...
if youre a body builder, inject away
if youre a professional wakeboarder, ehhh

but anyways i suppose stimulants like this may help focus but come on, it sounds like a similar substance to caffeine

This x1000

It will be a long long time before wakeboarding is ever in the olympics. It's not even in the x-games. Why would people think it's going to make it in the olympics when our own action sports event won't let us in?

Boat wakeboarding contests are too boring for spectators that don't know what wakeboarding is... Hopefully 2.0's and cable will get us back in the x games, until we can do that the olympics is out of the question

I am actually relieved to find that he failed for performance enhancing drugs. Ever since his video of the wrap, to ole, to handle-pass backside 1080 I assumed that he had sold his soul to Satan. Better losing the Pan-Am games (really is that event relevant) than his eternal soul. :-)

Now Rathy, do us a favor and pack a video camera on the boat next time.

Technically, depending on the drug used and the goal, steroids can do great things for all athletes. Steroids in general speed up the healing process and some allow for more endurance. More endurance and quicker healing equal more time on the water and more ability to get better. They are far from just for body builders. You'd be amazed at all the different beneifts you can get form different drugs.

you guys are notpicking up what im putting down at all, clincal studies have shown that steroid usage inhibits collagen synthesis and therefore can weaken tendons.
Yes steroids are good for your muscles[/URL]Yes they decrease inflammation immediately following an injury and yes can get you back to training sooner in that way they "accelerate" healing.
But that doesnt mean that they're good for your ligaments and tendons, they inhibit collagen synthesis by large amounts, so you build muscle not tendons/ligaments. (heres some light reading if you are interested http://ajs.sagepub.com/content/34/8/1274.full
)
But since everyone is trying to knock what im trying to say, the whole point of that statement was that any professional wakeboarder who cycles on and off steroids to train is putting themselves at higher risk for injury, so they're not likely to do it, so it shouldnt make a damn bit of difference testing for it in this sport.

150mg of pseufdophed is a banned substance. Hope no one would wakeboard with a bad cold, totally cheating lol

I think you were pretty clear and make a good point but athletes don't always understand what they are taking and what the results are. But there is no escaping the facts: Drugs don't help wakeboarding, wakeboarding is not going to be in the olympics any time soon. So in my opinion drop the effort to grease up the IOC and don't put any resources into drug enforcement for the sport.

I'm with Chris.....I can think of a few "cocktails" you could take than would definately be banned by any sanctioning body that would give any wakeboarder's huge advantages. Not all steriods pack on huge amounts of muscle and turn your ordinary joe into some raging gorilla.

methylhexaneamine is the main ingrediant in Jack3d ( Jacked) . the stuff is awesome, and works good.

Which steroids are you talking about? there are many different kinds with many different effects, not only that but they are often used on conjunction with one another to create custom cycles with custom effects.
The argument about injury can be applied to all sports, but does that stop them from being used, no.
I don't want to sign up for your article, but am curious what steroids were used for the study, in what doeses and what mixtures

if you guys are getting bent up because illegal substances are found in wakeboarding, open your eyes, its in many other action sports as well.. thats just how it is, complain all you want. but it wont change anything

androgenic and anabolic for that article, corticosteroids were used in others, good point but the side effects regarding steroid use remain the same and other drugs helpt prevent the break down of collagen but can stiffen the tendons so you trade one bad thing for another and there is hundereds of studies and clinical trials on rat and human tendons that yield the same results.

Yes, but in a sport like baseball where the use is prevalent, theres not a whole lot impact/torque. wakeboarder are dropping 20ft to flat going 25mph and then some when you pull across the wake. thats a huge risk to shred a knee and be out of your career for 6 months, without major dough rolling in like jason giambi, or tiger woods (both of whom have had knee injuries and have been accused of steroid use) to fall back on. The article is free, that particular one uses rat tendons, others use human tendons with medium doses to analyze the repair of the tendon after injury. (okay im done arguing not to use em)

Science aside if youre wakeboarding at high level i'd stay away and im sure that pro's would do the same, but thats my .02 so leave wakeboarders alone if they wanna risk their career it that's their choice. But stimulant testing like this is just silly. i wonder if they test for adderall and that crap too...
When we got to the olympics then test away, but do we really want that?


and yea jack3d is great, such a good preworkout, and cheap too! but apparently you fail drug tests LOL

It really is a balancing act and I'm sure a few pros have dabbled in them. you look at football and you see a sport with higher injury risk than wakeboarding that has had and still has high use of both anabolic steroids and growth hormone. Risk vs reward, it's the basic tenant of success. I think testing for them in wakeboarding is going a bit far, but it seems like every sport is taking this on.

There is an interesting documentary on steroids that kind shows them as a bi-product of our "win at all costs" mind set of american culture and compares them to the many other drugs used to help people in many other fields succeed. I don't know where I stand on them anymore, used to be dead set against them, but I know peopel who use them and I really don't see those people as wrong or bad, nor do I see many of the overinflated "side effects" that you hear so much about. When I'm 40 I'm going to go get hormone replacment therapy to help keep me active well into my 60's, whihc is basically just Dr. Monitored steroid use

I saw a movie called "bigger, faster, stronger", great doco:
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/bigger-stronger-faster/

I'm more interested in seeing who showed up to the contest because they are the ones who knew they would pass a drug test. Whoever didn't show up probably didn't think they would pass the drug test lol.

Darren, didn't the wrestler in that movie who moved to california end up dying? I think of heart attack, but he was obviously very suicidal

This thread is retarded.. Rathy said in his apology that he took a VERY common supplement used for burning fat..

You ******s dont need to sit and piss and moan about PED's and B-F-S and all of this BS about anabolics, etc..

He made a mistake, apologized and moved on.. You should too.

I'm not quite as angry as you are, but I agree.

I couldn't be less angry. I'm just not a "PC" homo that feels like I have to type as though I'm in church when I post here.

I get a laugh out of people making a mountain out of a mole hill... There are a million 18-30 year old guys taking Jacked, Ampd, Super Pump, etc etc etc.. Rathy is a wakeboarder but he's also a 20 something dude who obviuosly likes to work out, be in shape, lift, etc. The kid has a life too and I'm sure he made a simply oversight and didn't read every ingredient in an over the counter weight lifting supplement.

Talking about anabolics and PED's is ridiculous.

^^^you don't have to click into this thread you know.

it's stupid responses like that me not want to be a forum member at all..


thanks for your 2 cents dickballs

wow, what a tough typer, hopefully it makes you feel better, and is a better option than taking your problems out on a pet or something. Hopefully you follow through with your feelings. It's a forum, people will discuss things.

Feel free to leave!

Isn't it time for you to go kick the dog anyways?

+1 not a huge loss if you leave Jeff. Any time the subject of banned substances in sports come up there will be a discussion. If you don't like it don't read it.

Only one rider was chosen to compete for their own country. The Olympic Committee from each country paid for the expenses of the athlete. You should not judge riders that did not attend.

Here in the US, the United States Olympic Committee requires a team trial competition where usually Board UP Miami is usually the host event. However this year Windermere Wakefest hosted the event where .Andrew Adkison won. This year the USOC pays performance grant to Andrew under a support program to our athletes named Operation Gold.

I've never understood why testing is only done AFTER an athelete accomplishes something great. Why don't they test all the athletes before these events are held... or before a season begins.

Hmmmm, Barry Bonds is twice the size he used to be. And he is well on his way to shattering the homerun record. Let's wait till he actually does it, then accuse him and test him! I remember something like that a couple years back.

Thanks for that, very interesting piece of information. Out of all of the contests, why do they choose those two events. They both have pretty limited pro lineups although board up had a decent showing last year because of the big $$.

those are the USA-WB events that some Pro's will go to. In your mind it's limited, in USA-WB's mind, it's their best attended events........

Maybe he's pounding out some of that aggresion of having his medal taken away in this video. The guy destroys it. That Osmosis 5 is sick. And Cisco's probably going to freak about him not wearing a vest.

http://www.sbcwakeboard.com/video_di...ron-Rathy-Rips

Slaying

he's a freaking moron. no sympathy for him. i've met him a few times and have nothing bad to say about the guy, but if you cannot achieve your body's physical peak from a proper diet and excercise then you should speak to a nutriionist and personal trainer. IMO, the only supplements that are any good are quality multi-vitamins and EAS products. However, I have not taken any EAS stuff in a long time and I have no idea if they would violate any rules. On the other hand, i'm not a pro athelete so i do not need to care. Just like you have to keep up with licenses in insurance, training as a doctor, or hours as pilot you should understand what's up.

I personally think supplements are a joke, but I'm definitely willing to give Rathy the benefit of the doubt here. He didn't do his research well enough. That doesn't make him a moron.

[QUOTE=fowl;1717962]he's a freaking moron.

nothing bad to say, other than hes a freaking moron.....

Ya. He is. You learn the rules. Just like there are certain things I have to be aware of for my job or I lose my license.

This is where wakeboarding, if/when accepted as an Olympic sport (cable) is headed, and is an example of similarity to what has happened and will continue to happen under IWWF and USA-WB rule. Riders should not attend IWWF and USA-WB events, before they don't have a choice, which is where elite snowboarders are at now...

http://espn.go.com/action/snowboardi...ation-decision

This is so depressing^^^. Wakeboarding needs to boycott while it's still small enough to do so easily.

I wouldn't call Rathy a moron. That's just an insult. It's not like he has mild mental retardation.

I would however call him lazy. One time at OWC he asked me to throw him a screwdriver cuz he was too lazy to take off his board and walk 15 feet to get it himself. Sure, if we were buds then I wouldn't think twice, but I don't even know him. Rather than take the risk of tossing the screwdriver and it ending up in the lake to never be seen again, I walked it over to him and then felt like I was the tool. Just cuz he was world champ doesn't mean he can expect strangers to cater to him. And for those of you who haven't been to O-dub, its not like a friendly place. Thats McCormicks or Wake Nation Cincy. O-Dub has this standoffish "we're better than you" snobby vide, so Rathy's request of me was certainly out of place. Unless he's used to people there wiping his ass for him. Ok, that was maybe a little too far, but you know what I mean.

Sooo...perhaps he was too lazy to do the research about what he ingests. But hey, aren't we all lazy in some way? When I move out of my parents basement, I wanna have hands-free faucets! Oh Babeee!

http://www.bathselect.com/v/vspfiles/images/46.jpe

So slick and sexy. Donut make you wanna get dirty?!?!?

Oh, c'mon man, I'm no pro and I ask people to toss me a screwdriver all the time. I've only ridden cable at O-Dub once and they treated me well, but I have heard from other that they're not very chill.