Olympic gold-medal winner, Tyler Hamilton declares his retirement from the inetrnational cycling world on Friday because of his confirmation of steroid use. Hamilton said that he took the drug to battle the problem of depression.
Hamilton, the American cyclist, admitted using an over-the-counter homeopathic anti-depressant that contains the steroid dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), which is named in the list of banned substances by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
The emotional cyclist said in a teleconference there are times when you are at such a low, low point anything that you can do — if it was taking a hammer and hitting yourself over the head you’d do it to feel better. He also said that he was desperate at that time and he didn’t think about the results. Hamilton concluded that the people who suffer from the depression could understand his drastic decision.
The 38-year-old cyclist, who claimed was first detected with depression in 2003, agreed that he was tested positive for DHEA during an out-of-competition test on February 9 while he was training for the Tour of California. However, Hamilton had denied the allegations that he used the steroid to enhance his performance in his next-to-last finish in the race.
From Reuters:
Olympic gold medal-winner Tyler Hamilton has tested positive for a banned substance and retired from cycling, the American said Friday.
Hamilton said he is battling depression and admitted taking an over-the-counter homeopathic anti-depressant containing the steroid DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone), which is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances.
“There are times when you are at such a low, low point anything that you can do — if it was taking a hammer and hitting yourself over the head you’d do it to feel better,” he said during an emotional teleconference.
“I was desperate. Was it the right decision? Absolutely not. At the time I didn’t think about the consequences. The people who suffer from the disease of depression…understand my drastic decision.”
Hamilton, a gold medal winner in 2004 Athens Olympic, was first detected for blood doping test in September of that year and was suspended for two-years. According to the WADA code, a player is subject to a ban from eight years to life time if he is charged second time in a doping offence.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said that despite Hamilton’s retirement, it would reveal the cyclist’s sanction “in the coming months.”
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