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Not so positive U.S. Olympic bobsledder suspended for failing drug test
Updated: Monday July 16, 2001 8:26 PM COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -- U.S. Olympic bobsledder John Kasper, also an assistant coach with the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, was suspended from the sport for two years after failing a drug test. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Monday that Kasper tested positive for the anabolic steroid methandienone during an out-of-competition test in Lake Placid, N.Y. on March 8. Methandienone, known by the brand name Dianobol, is one of the most potent anabolic steroids and causes aggression, said Dr. Larry Bowers, USADA's senior managing director. Kasper's suspension lasts two years from that date, the maximum punishment under International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation rules. "I thought he was aware enough that he wouldn't take something by accident," said Matt Roy, executive director of the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation. "I thought he had enough character that he wouldn't take it intentionally, so I don't know what happened, but I'm surprised." Roy said Kasper was a strong contender for the 2002 Olympic team, but not a shoo-in. He said Kasper's results had been worse than expected recently and Kasper had been having knee trouble. Kasper could not immediately be reached for comment. Kasper is also the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Vikings. The team said on its Web site he had been given two years off to pursue a medal in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Kasper, 33, races two- and four-man bobsleds and was on the U.S. team in 1998, when he finished 12th in the two-man event at Nagano, Japan. The suspension means his sixth-place World Cup finishes in both
events at Lake Placid on March 10 will be disqualified.
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