It is the secrecy that made me uneasy
LAST weekend’s Mail on Sunday investigation into ‘grey areas’ of performance-enhancement was fascinating to me because I was a ‘guinea pig’ in the secret UK Sport trial of ‘wonder substance’ DeltaG, designed to boost Team GB hopes at London 2012.
I’m happy to share the pros and cons of being involved, though they may not be the pros and cons that general observers imagine.
First, my background. I have competed for Great Britain at the highest level in one of our major Olympic sports and won medals.
I was invited to take DeltaG, and was comfortable to do so. I can understand many people think it’s odd I’d sign a waiver to say if I failed a drug test or became ill as a result, it would be my fault and not UK Sport’s.
But firstly, participants were assured the risks of a failed test were absolutely tiny because WADA wasn’t looking for DeltaG and it wasn’t on any banned list at the time. As for safety, people had tried it before with no serious side effects.
Secondly, as any professional athlete will confirm, every week we take much greater risks than trying a new sports drink. It’s standard to push our bodies to places they shouldn’t go; to train and compete with injuries, quite often damaging our health, our social lives, our relationships and our ‘normal life’ along the way.
My own experience of DeltaG was, to be frank, unremarkable. I took it a few times. It was absolutely DISGUSTING. Horribly bitter, barely palatable, but I got it down and had no stomach issues. I did see a few people gag on it. I saw one person vomit, a lot. But then a heavy protein shake can do that. I know people who had short-lived gastrointestinal issues and people who tried it once and never again. Nothing shocking, in my view.
As for results, it’s hard to say. Once when I took it, my perception was it gave me a bit more ‘bite’ in my performance; it just felt easier that day. I believe officially there was improvement in that session for me but not statistically significant. I know I performed better on days before and after I tried it. And worse.
If there was another con it’s minor but worth noting: athletes are creatures of habit. Introduce anything new at the wrong time and it can be upsetting.
But I don’t think UK Sport deserve censure for experimenting, on this occasion or others where they’ve spent money trying to gain an edge for Team GB. Other athletes will disagree, and that’s fine. I’m sure fans are split too.
One thing that does make me uneasy is the secrecy. Not back then, of course. You don’t let the world know you’re trying to eke an advantage while you do it. But eight years on, isn’t there a useful conclusion that the scientific community at large (and I!) can learn from? Did it work, or not?
I certainly did nothing wrong. So what’s to hide?