Newsgroup: it.sport.ciclismo
Titolo: Mari Holden about Doping

http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/Documents/20050615105430-22016.pdf
Scusate se è in inglese...ma sarebbe bello se tutti la pensassero un po' 
così.
Testimony of Mari Holden
Before the House Government Reform Committee
June 15, 2005
Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee, good morning. My name is Mari 
Holden and I am a 2000 Olympic silver medalist and 2000 World Champion 
in the sport of cycling. I want to thank the Committee for its interest 
in this important subject and the invitation to testify. I have been 
competing as a professional cyclist at the international level since 
1993 and have firsthand experience of the effects of drug use in sport. 
I have never used steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs, but I 
have had my hard work, dedication and victory compromised by other
athletes who have.
It is important for you to hear from clean athletes who have to work 
against those who rob all of us of the values sport should represent. 
Unfortunately, much of what is in the news is the opinion of athletes 
who have achieved success by using performance-enhancing substances
and are now getting caught. While we should commend those who have the 
courage to accept responsibility for their mistakes, far too little has 
been heard from the athletes who strive to participate in sport using 
the right substances; namely, personal accountability, commitment,
hard work, and integrity.
As a young girl growing up in southern California, I saw the magic of 
the Olympics in my own backyard when Los Angeles hosted the 1984 Olympic 
Games. I dreamed of being an Olympian and representing the United States 
in athletic competition. I even went so far as to practice standing on a 
makeshift podium and singing the national anthem. As a kid, my dream
seemed straightforward and similar to most people’s American dream – if 
you train and work hard, dedicate yourself to your goals and play by the 
rules, you can become a winner.
When I was 12, on my first bike, I just wanted to go fast. For me, it 
was a matter of seeing how far I could ride, or how fast I could go on a 
descent. The rules were the rules, no questions asked. We all played by 
the simple philosophy that winners never cheat and cheaters never win. 
Most 12 year olds today can recite this sacred adage and it seems so 
simple.
The reason that winners never cheat is that winners recognize the 
important life lessons taught by sport which are far greater than any 
title, record or prize. True champions recognize that sportsmanship 
exists not only in winning but in winning with integrity. Sport is 
valued, in part, because it builds character, self-esteem, and 
confidence. These are the skills that create success on the athletic 
fields or in the boardrooms across America. As I transition from athlete
to business woman, I cling to the lessons I learned over the past 17 years.
Being a young girl in today’s society is not always easy. All around 
there are messages that they need to be thin and that how they look is 
more important than who they are. Sports teach young girls and young 
women that it is our commitment and the core within and not just
our outer layer that is valued and respected.
I first realized the magnitude drug use can have on my career when I 
went to race in Europe, widely considered the pinnacle of professional 
cycling. I knew that in order to be the best in the world, I needed to 
race in Europe full-time and push myself harder than I had in the U.S. 
Despite winning several U.S. National Championship titles, I was barely 
making enough money to cover my phone bills back home. Women’s sports 
generally don’t have the money that other sports have. But I was not 
racing to become rich; I just wanted to see how good I could be.
For some of my fellow competitors, cycling was their only means of 
supporting a family back home. Regardless of whether, the athletes were 
competing solely for the money or glory, the temptation to win at all 
costs was prevalent. Athletes need a system that supports their choice 
to complete clean.
I made a decision early on in my career not to take short cuts to 
success by doping. I was fortunate to have a support group including my 
parents, coach and husband who backed my belief that the only 
accomplishments worth attaining were the ones that I earned on my own.
Sometimes it is hard to think straight when you are exhausted from a 
10-day race and you know that some people out there are cheating. 
Personally, I always tried to take the high road and tell myself that I 
was the better sportswoman because I was successful without drugs. Of 
course, disappointment sets in when you know that someone who is not 
clean beats you and takes away your result.
In the past it seemed that much of the time, the cheaters were one step 
ahead of the testers. The people who cheat are also the ones that are 
willing to use every scientific and legal loophole to ensure they do not 
get caught. Fortunately, for clean athletes, this has changed with
the World Anti-Doping Agency and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. A few 
years go, when I told some foreign teammates that one day they too would 
be subject to unannounced testing, they did not believe me. Now that 
time is here, and more people are starting to get caught for drugs that
they never would have had in their systems before.
Looking back on my career I can smile knowing that I did it the right 
way. I have an Olympic medal and earning it was one of the greatest 
achievements in my life. The medal is only a symbol, but standing on the 
podium and hearing Anita De Frantz, a USOC and IOC board member, tell me 
that my whole country was proud was the moment I had imagined since I 
stood on the podium in my backyard. It was a feeling that I had overcome 
the odds and had done it without compromising my values. There were so 
many opportunities to take the easy way, but I will never look at my 
medal and feel anything but pride.
I am here because I want to make sure that the clean athletes of today 
and tomorrow have a voice. Our children need to have a level playing 
field and the use of drugs for sport or looks should be deterred at all 
levels. As a clean athlete, I want you to test me so that the world 
knows that when I win, I win fair and square. I believe all clean 
athletes feel the same when given the chance to speak freely about these 
issues. Frankly, it is the same simple rule we all followed as
children on the playground and which our children hopefully still follow 
today. Cheaters never win and winners never cheat.
http://www.usacycling.org/gallery/albums/album94/MARI_HOLDEN_HEADSHOT_002.thumb.jpg
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