On the eve of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, much going on with the administration of anti-doping measures. To think it all burst into the public consciousness 20 years ago when Ben Johnson shocked the world twice: he dominated Carl Lewis on the track, and in the pharmaceutic aisle.
Sentana Sports discusses the mistrust the public has in WADA in 2008. John Fahey -- head of WADA -- on the issue (and The Guardian)
The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency [Wada] believes that the Olympic Games has lost credibility with the general public because of drug scandals.
Seven Russian athletes were suspended for alleged doping offences just a week before the opening ceremony of the Beijing games, and John Fahey feels that the Olympic 100m race has in particular become blighted by doubt.
Twenty years after the Ben Johnson scandal at the Seoul Olympics, the 100m has seen subsequent champions Linford Christie, Justin Gatlin and Warren Gatland all subject to allegations of drug misuse...
Mr Fahey believes that Wada’s anti-doping fight has a moral dimension.
"We have to restore faith, otherwise we are morally bankrupt and saying to our kids 'fill yourselves up with a mouthful of pills if you want to succeed'," he continued.
Meanwhile, Jacques Rogge head of the IOC expects 30-40 new positive doping tests. (AFP)
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge admitted on Thursday that the Beijing Games could yield up to 40 positive drugs tests.
"I expect there to be between 30-40 positive tests based on an extrapolation from Athens in 2004 where there were 26 from 3,500 tests and here there will be 4,500 tests," said Rogge.
"If we have fewer I will be extremely glad because that would suggest that with all the testing over the past four years there is a deterrent effect."
Rogge said he was disappointed that drug use in sport was still a major problem but recognised that there will always be cheats.
"I hate doping, but it would be wrong for us to be Utopians. There will always be criminality in the world. There are 500 million people practicing sports in the world; there are not 500 million saints."
[More here from the Times Online.]
The original New York Times Olympics Story on Ben Johnson's 100M 1988 Seoul Olympics victory:
Ben Johnson of Canada won the Olympic 100-meter final today in a stunning 9.79 seconds to lower his world record and defeat his greatest rival, Carl Lewis of the United States, the defending Olympic champion.
Ben Johnson of Canada won the Olympic 100-meter final today in a stunning 9.79 seconds to lower his world record and defeat his greatest rival, Carl Lewis of the United States, the defending Olympic champion.
The time also broke the 20-year-old Olympic record of 9.95 seconds, set by Jim Hines of the United States in the 1968 Games in Mexico City.
Lewis finished second in 9.92 seconds to break the American record of 9.93 he shared with Calvin Smith.
And the shocking announcement that the glamor event of the Olympics -- the 100 M Dash -- was horribly tainted by doping:
Ben Johnson of Canada, who won the Olympic 100-meter final Saturday in the world-record time of 9.79 seconds, was stripped of his gold medal and today was disqualified from the Games after drug tests showed he had used an anabolic steroid.
Ben Johnson of Canada, who won the Olympic 100-meter final Saturday in the world-record time of 9.79 seconds, was stripped of his gold medal and today was disqualified from the Games after drug tests showed he had used an anabolic steroid.
The International Olympic Committee announced the test results this morning, and later in the morning, the International Amateur Athletic Federation, the world governing body for track and field, banned Johnson from competition for two years, the maximum penalty. The Canadian Government banned him for life from receiving a monthly payment he had been receiving from it.
So much has happened since...(check out the photo of the Seoul finish where most of the 100M athletes were dopers)
Even the best of programs can fall prey to this and unfortunately throw you off course.
Posted by: bio-identical hormone replacement | 08/04/2011 at 10:49
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Posted by: Pandora Online | 03/21/2012 at 04:54