You Don’t Have to Use Drugs to Be a Champion

By Harry Sneider

One of my all time leading athletes in my hall of fame is Lance Armstrong. I have followed his career for many years and thought that he was drug free. New findings from the USADA have uncovered all kinds of maneuvers by his team, as well as their spouses and girl friends, using drugs in the Tour De France. This shows the deep moral failure on the part of Lance as well as his teammates. Over the last 17 years of the Tour, 15 of the winners have used drugs. The only American who has ever won the Tour drug free was Greg LeMond. The entire cycling community needs cleaning up.
As an Olympic trainer, Dr. Jeff Spencer who was an Olympic cyclist in 1972 came to me and asked if I could help him train some of the greatest cyclists in the world. This was a great honor to meet drug free athletes that were competing for the United States in the Olympic Games. One particular athlete that stands out was Mark Gorski. His power was incredible. He was able to squat his buttocks down to his heels with 400 lbs. At the time I was training NFL football players off season. They stood with their mouths open to see drug free Olympic cyclist Mark Gorski do repetitions with these very heavy weights.
Mark went on to win the gold medal in Olympic cycling in the Velodrome. He continued to help other cyclists on the United States team and at one time he actually helped Lance Armstrong. Dr. Jeff Spencer worked with Lance on some of the cycling tours. As a senior Olympics coordinator for over 20 years I have been involved in seeing many seniors drug free do some amazing things on bikes. Last spring my wife Sarah was able to race against some of the best women in the United States in the 5K, 10K, 20K, and 40K in Long Beach. These cyclists represented a high level of character that Lance and his team could have used on the Tour De France. You can win without drugs.
Drugs are for losers. You can lose your life. One of my closest friends, a Mr. Universe, died an early death with the use of drugs. Several years ago a young cyclist came to me and said, “I would like to be an Olympic athlete. I’ve been asked to go to Europe to train there with the great riders from around the world.” He came back and said, “Harry, in order for me to be on the team I have to take drugs.” He decided not to use drugs. This is a very tragic example of how far the sport of cycling has gone.
Let me give you 7 keys to winning in cycling as well as other sports. 1. Ask for God’s guidance. 2. Train consistently with the best coaches and trainers available. 3. Eat healthy foods that will give you energy as well as muscle. 4. Believe that you can win. 5. Be a leader, not a follower of drug users. 6. Persevere. 7. Thank God that you have a body that’s healthy and sound. You have unlimited potential. Stay away from drugs.
Harry Sneider can be reached at 626-355-8964 or harrysneider@earthlink.net.

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