HALIFAX (CUP) — An athlete from Dalhousie University recently found himself throwing up due to extreme dehydration after being tested for drugs.
Mike Terauds, swimmer for the Dalhousie Tigers in Nova Scotia, barely made it in time for his next heat when he had to jump right back out to the deck where he started vomiting beside his teammates.
“I was trying to hold it in but it was filling up my cheeks,” he said.
Terauds was randomly chosen for testing after his final swim meet of the season when a representative from the Canadian Center for Ethics in Sport (CCES) suddenly showed up and led him to a waiting doctor. He was not allowed to eat or drink anything or to be alone for any amount of time. Even when Terauds was getting dressed, there was a representative watching his every move.
“It was totally random. I had just finished a swim race and one of the guys pulled me aside and told me that I was going to be drug-tested. [Then he asked me] if I understood what that was,” said Terauds.
The CCES doctor checked the pH balance of the urine to make sure it was not diluted (which can result from excessive water-drinking). The containers were then sealed and labeled.
“I had to hold up my shirt to my armpits and drop my pants.”
A student volunteer viewed the scene while Terauds tried to urinate. Unfortunately, it took some time before the urge came to tinkle.
“I couldn’t pee for 10 minutes and there was dead silence. Finally I started to pee, but it was just a dribble and I was like, ‘Ah God, come on!’ I was forcing myself as much as I could,” he said.
Terauds had been ill the week before and believes his lack of output was probably due to dehydration.
In the end Terauds managed to provide 75 per cent of the amount needed (100 mg) for the doctor to do the testing, which was just enough.
After Terauds signed several consent forms, similar to the ones every Dalhousie athlete must sign at the beginning of their season, the doctor finally allowed him a sealed drink that was provided by CCES. It was afterwards he began to be sick.
Luckily Terauds hadn’t been taking any Extra Strength Tylenol or Robitussin for his illness, which are two examples of banned substances, but his dehydration did cause concern from the CCES.
Terauds didn’t get suspended. But, had he been ingesting Allegra D, Claritin Extra, containing ephedrine, he would have been slapped with a three-month or life-long suspension from university athletics.
“Most suspensions are for four years, so for a university student that means their entire career,” said Al Scott, Dalhousie’s athletic director.
Although being selected for random testing seems to be a heaving drag, one good thing comes out of it.
“They gave me this long-sleeved T-shirt that says ‘Be true to yourself, be true to your sport, don’t do drugs.’”
