Drug testers did not call upon Gary Snyder three years ago to deliver a urine sample at the world masters track and field championships in Riccione, Italy, and he’s plenty happy about that. After his contest in the 100 and 200 meters for 65- to 69-year-old men, Snyder realized that his instruction medication for high blood pressure qualified as a banned, performance-enhancing material.
It had not at all occurred to Snyder, a year into his term as USA Track and Field Masters Chairman, that he could have flunked a drug test and been disqualified from the very sport he was managing in the United States.
“That would have been discomforting,” Snyder said. “I don’t know how I could have explained approaching in 20th, or whatsoever it was, and captivating drugs. Holy cow . . . I would have had to quit.”
Now, as Snyder attempts to fetch drug-testing to U.S. masters track and field in time for next summer’s out-of-doors championships, he has a deep positive reception for the treacherous terrain he is negotiating.
The population of athletes that competes in masters track and field events in the United States is older (ages range from 35 to nearly 100), slower and significantly more medicated than professional or Olympic-level competitors. Some participants say testing is costly and would attain little more than implicating a cluster of well-meaning grandmothers attentively taking prescription medications for non-competitive reasons.
“Any masters athlete over 40 is going to test positive for a little, because at this age, we’re all on something,” said Val Barnwell, a men’s 50-54 world record holder who won four gold medals at last summer’s world championships in Lahti, Finland. “Who in their right mind would swindle at this level.
