November 17/08 12:21 pm - Cyclist relates how doping damaged his career, life

Posted by Editoress on 11/17/08
 

Cyclist relates how doping damaged his career, life

On May 29, 2005, Canadian mountain biker Chris Sheppard injected recombinant erythropoietin (rEPO) for the first time.

The next day, at 7:30 a.m., the Canadian Centre For Ethics In Sport (CCES) knocked on his door for an out-of-competition random drug test. EPO is a drug that builds endurance by boosting the amount of oxygen-rich red blood cells.

His career was permanently tainted.

Sheppard was in Rochester Saturday to share his story with Sports Medicine professionals at the 18th annual Symposium on Sports Medicine.

"First and foremost I am a doper," said Sheppard in his presentation. "Before being caught using EPO I was addicted to one substance: cycling. I am not here to give you excuses for what I did, but maybe to shed some light on why I made that fateful decision that will be with me to my grave."

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