Icuy...that's plausible--more so than anything else I've heard. I especially agree that with the finish line suddenly in view, any athlete worth his salt will go for it no matter what the consequences.

I don't see how he can possibly clear his name at this point. "Synthetic" paints a whole new picture. Perhaps something was spiked, but how could he prove it now? In his shoes, if I truly were innocent, I'd insist on a lie detector test. It might not clear him as far as the race results go, but at least in John Q Public's eye, some other explanation would become plausible and he'd be able to hold his head up again.

I have a long-shot question. Is it possible that the night prior to the finish when he said he was drinking beer and Jack Daniels somebody slipped a dopping substance into his drink that would make him show up positive for dopping the next day?

I remember in the military many guys were very careful about watching their drinks in the bar the days before we suspected a urine test was comming.

Sure Jorr, they could've slipped anything into this drink. But if it was synthetic (or natural) testosterone, it would've been degraded in his digestive tract and wouldn't show up in a test. Testosterone has to be injected or absorbed through the skin. There's no way that can be the reason he tested positive.

Not a longshot question at all jorr! That was my first thought! Someone slipped him a hormone mickey.

Weasel, are there any substances taken by mouth that can raise testosterone or Indicate raised testosterone for a short period of time? Of coarse there are.

I don't think that's an accurate statement Weasel. A quick google search yielded this on oral dosage:

Oral agents

Although elevations in liver function tests and abnormalities at liver scan and biopsy are relatively common in patients receiving oral testosterone,10 these preparations still constitute roughly a third of the testosterone prescriptions filled in the United States. Both modified and unmodified oral testosterone preparations are available. Unmodified testosterone is rapidly absorbed by the liver, making satisfactory serum concentrations difficult to achieve. Modified 17-alpha alkyltestosterones, such as methyltestosterone or fluoxymesterone, also require relatively large doses that must be taken several times a day.

None-the-less, it sounds as if someone would have had to put a bunch in his drink to result in a level almost 3 times that allowed.