Morin pushes for clean sport

Morin, now a practicing lawyer, stroked the women’s eight to silver at the 2012 Olympic Games as well as at the 2010 and 2011 World Rowing Championships. She retired following the London Olympics. Morin recently spoke at the 2015 WADA Symposium in Lausanne, Switzerland. World Rowing asked Morin about her views on anti-doping and clean sport.

World Rowing: As a former athlete, why is “clean sport” so important to you personally?

Andreanne Morin: Doping is affecting the very core of sports; sport is a contest on an even playing field and the outcome is determined solely by the individual merit of the athlete. Put simply, doping is cheating and fundamentally contrary to the spirit of sport. Nowadays, doping allegations are tainting the world of sport where an outstanding performance will often be questioned. It’s a shame and we owe it to future generations of athletes to protect clean athletes and fight doping.

WR: What does being a member of the WADA Athlete Committee mean to you?

AM: I feel privileged to be part of this committee of current and former world-class athletes that are equally passionate about our mission. Our group is committed to bringing the voices of athletes to the anti-doping movement; educating athletes on their rights and responsibilities and ensuring that the athlete voice is well represented in discussing doping related issues. I also believe that for the anti-doping message to have weight and influence, athletes have to speak out about doping and protect the clean athletes that are competing.

WR: What were some of the highlights of your first term on the committee (2011-2014)?

AM: The highlight of my first term on the committee was certainly the revision of the World Anti-doping Code and its ratification in November 2013. Our input and recommendations in regards to longer sanctions, targeting of the athlete’s entourage, sanctioning of athletes in team sports and the focus on investigations in the fight against doping were significant. Also, as a lawyer, I found the legal analysis and the drafting of the provisions a fascinating process.

WR: What has motivated you to serve a second term on the committee (2015-2018)?

AM: First and foremost, I want to continue to protect clean athletes and I believe that all athletes have a right to a fair competition. With the recent flurry of doping allegations in sports, this is a critical time for WADA and all athletes. Now effective as of January 2015, I look forward to see how the new provisions of the Code will be applied by CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) and other anti-doping organisations.

WR: How have your lawyer skills served you in your role as a WADA Athlete Committee member?

AM: Prior to the revision of the World Anti-doping Code, our committee was often asked to provide feedback on issues that dealt with legal concepts that I was more familiar with and so, when I could, I helped those in our committee to understand those terms.

WR: What are some of the risk situations that athletes can potentially find themselves confronted with and possibly lead to doping behaviour?

AM: Today’s ‘pill-popping’ culture is detrimental to all athletes but especially to elite athletes. We are all bombarded with advertising for supplements, pills, shakes, therapies and the like and society, as a whole, seems to be embracing it, as it is now a multi-billion dollar industry. Athletes have to resist the marketing and not fall prey to these societal pressures. Not only are some of these products a health risk, but a positive doping test, whether it is inadvertent or intentional, destroys a sporting career and / or teams. Elite athletes, competing on the national or international stage and representing their countries have to understand that they are accountable for all substances they ingest.

WR: How would you encourage an athlete to respond when confronted with such situations?

AM: Stay strong and true to your values! There are no shortcuts to becoming an excellent athlete – train the hardest, row the fastest, eat well and believe in your natural abilities.

WR: Are there certain characteristics that can tend to make some athletes more susceptible to turn to doping?

AM: I can only speculate why some athletes would be more susceptible to doping. That being said, athletes have to be surrounded by people they trust and with whom they share the same values.

WR: Some athletes unknowingly take prohibited substances when consuming supplements. What would your recommendation be about supplements in general?

AM: First it depends how ‘supplements’ are qualified. I believe that supplements are not vitamins and are products that someone takes for a purpose other than general health. Some believe that no athlete needs to consume supplements to perform optimally. I am of the opinion that if an athlete takes supplements, the athlete has to do his or her due diligence by obtaining a medical opinion on the ingredients listed in the supplement and be sure that none are on the prohibited list. The athlete should also contact the manufacturer in order to understand the testing process of the supplements (batch testing is better but still not 100 per cent safe). That being said, a contaminated supplement that leads to an inadvertent positive test is still a doping infraction that will be sanctioned and strip that athlete of a medal. Best to not mess around with supplements!

WR: When you were an international rower, what were some of the ‘best practices’ you chose to implement and attitudes you adopted to ensure you would achieve peak performance while staying clean?

AM: Firstly, I was very wary of any pill, medication or vitamin I took. I would verify everything with the team doctor and check whether medication was legal using Global Dro (http://www.globaldro.com/ca-en/). More importantly, I trained as hard as I could, raced with my heart and believed in my teammates.

WR: Anything else you’d like to add?

AM: I cringe when I hear athletes complaining that they have to provide a sample for doping control.

Clean athletes need to speak up more and endorse the anti-doping efforts. A clean athlete should look at a sample collection process as a way to prove to teammates and competitors that he or she is clean, is competing fairly and is playing true.

Note: All answers and opinions expressed in this interview are Morin’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of WADA or the WADA Athlete Committee.