2013 CrossFit Games - NorCal Regionals
A few of my favorite shots from last weekend...C&C welcome and appreciated.
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Entire gallery here: http://www.mccauley-photo.com/Sports/2013-CrossFit-Games-NorCal/29650619_cCpTpg
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
#10
Entire gallery here: http://www.mccauley-photo.com/Sports/2013-CrossFit-Games-NorCal/29650619_cCpTpg
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Comments
I'm not advocating that 100% are clean... as with any populous there are some looking for an edge and to cheat the system. However they are typically caught as the Crossfi Games employs the strictest drug testing found anywhere, rivaling even the Olympics.
So, if by " chemistry" you mean being genetically gifted and eating an extremely clean diet... then you are correct!!
...and so does cycling, just ask LA...sorry, as a medical doctor ( and former national team athlete for several years in my youth) I recognize the phenotype...It's a rather simple matter to evade tests for drugs that would induce this body type.
Boy oh boy...according to your logic, PED users exhibit X, Y, Z...etc. traits; and while not ALL PED users exhibit some or all of these traits (according to you) anyone that does exhibit these traits must in fact be a PED user. Must suck to live in your pessimistic narrow view of world.
Again I'm not endorsing or defending 100% of these individuals...quite simply, I'm a 43yo that clocks in at a whopping buck fifty myself, but have spent enough time around many top CrossFit competitors over the past 4 years and have never seen any dramatic changes in their physiques or performance that would indicate anything other than the following (1) they're genetically gifted and (2) they absolutely work their assess off!!
Actually, most PEDs don't produce any outward physical characteristics that are easy to spot. These include any of the class of stimulants that provide energy and focus, and are the most commonly used PEDs.
However, steroids--especially AAS, whose sole purpose is to provide more bulk, strength and masculine characteristics--do cause very recognizable physical manifestations. The most common of these are excess bulk that is not evenly distributed (unless of course like bodybuilders the athlete works to achieve even distribution), and of course masculine characteristics on females. Additionally, skin changes are a good clue. A number of athletes you photographed show these characteristics. Of course, this COULD be a combination a very special physical gifts and hard work. But having had the pleasure of being surrounded by any number of elite athletes, many of whom medaled in the Olympics and other international competitions, I have never ever seen the kinds of bodies that now routinely show up at high level competitions.
It's important to keep in mind that PED testing, especially AAS use, is not particularly effective. Orally administered steroids clear the system very quickly, and by 'cycling' it is rather easy to evade detection. In addition, in order to detect the presence of a PED one has to know a priori what it looks like chemically. Small modifications can effectively make the PED totally invisible, and the PED-using component of the sports world uses frequent modifications to play this cat-and-mouse game. I know this well because a technology I developed a few years ago to develop new therapeutic drugs ended up being used as one part of laboratory screening for PEDs.
There are some amazing athletes out there; it's a shame that money and fame so often corrupt sports. But I guess I shouldn't complain, as a number of my photos that get picked up by the media are of PED-using athletes.
So, if you're going to shoot another event I suggest some tighter framing to bring out the details in the muscle tone and facial expressions.