Tamiko Shibata banned for life

Female bodybuilder Tamiko Shibata has been banned from the INBA for life.

Tamiko Shibata, an amateur competitor from the USA has received a lifetime ban from the INBA (International Bodybuilding Association) after returning positive WADA tests. Tamiko, who won first place at the 2008 Natural Olympia in San Francisco, subsequently tested positive for the following compounds: Clenbuterol, Letrozole Metabolite and Tamoxifen.

Tamiko placed well from 2002 until 2005, when she stopped competing for two years:

2008
Natural Olympia - INBA, Short, 1st (revoked)
Natural Olympia - INBA, Overall Winner (revoked)

2005
California Natural - ABA, Winner
Pacific USA Naturals - NPC, Physique, 6th
US Armed Forces Championships - NPC, Physique, 3rd

2004
Los Angeles Natural - ABA, 3rd
Natural Universe - INBA, Short, 3rd

2003
Natural Universe - INBA, Short, 3rd

2002
California Natural - ABA, Short, 2nd

(info from musclememory)

It's easy for folks to dismiss Tamiko with the typical 'serves her right' atitude, or ask how she could have thought she was going to get away with it at a tested event.

I don't condonde Tamiko's actions. After all, she was competing at a natural show, however I do understand the intense pressure to achieve and perform that female bodybuilders face on a daily basis and that means I can empathise with her.

The real question to ask is; how personally rewarding would the victory have been had she not been caught?

Insulin-like growth factor: the sci-fi future of bodybuilding?

IGF or 'Insulin-like growth factor' (IGF-1) is a naturally occurring muscle-mass promoter. It is often speculated that serious bodybuilders inject this directly into their muscles to improve mass and size. The only problem is that it works locally and quickly wears off.









A wired article reports: "Enter biotech, which can not only synthesize the protein from scratch but also package it in the form of engineered viruses that insert IGF-1 genes directly into muscle cells, allowing them to produce their own growth factor indefinitely."

Genetically engineered viruses delivering hormones directly into your muscles? Sounds like the beginning of the bionic female bodybuilder. And all this time you've been relying on protein shakes....