Drugs in sport like arms race

Former California Governor and movie megastar, Arnold Schwarzenegger has hit thespeaking circuit. Picture: Glen McCurtayne/Coleman-Rayner Source: Supplied

Arnold Schwarzenegger in his bodybuilding days. Source: Supplied

FORMER muscle man, actor and Californian governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has compared Australian sport's drug scandal to the missile crisis on the Korean peninsula.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Sunday Telegraph, the "Governator" described the development of new steroids and performance-enhancing drugs as an "arms race" and drug tests as "missile defence systems".

And if anybody in the world can offer an opinion on the two subjects, it's Mr Schwarzenegger. The ex-Mr Universe admitted to steroid use during his bodybuilding days in the 1970s, and also served in the Austrian armed forces at the peak of the Cold War.

"The drug makers are very clever," Mr Schwarzenegger said. "They are constantly developing new drugs and substances that are undetectable.

"It's like the missile crisis we are seeing at the moment, one side develops a new missile which means the other side has to develop a new defence."

Mr Schwarzenegger said the Australian government needed to legislate for more frequent drug tests to avoid the scandal ruining sport forever.

"I would say the only way around it is to test often and stringently," he said.

Mr Schwarzenegger said the role of illicit substances in sport had grown significantly since his days as an athlete.

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Drugs in sport like arms race