Drugs..Drugs...Doping In Sports
Every since I started following sports as a child, doping and drugs have been a mainstay of sports. In a Wikipedia article it was noted that.." Evidence was there that the Stasi (East Germany Secret Police)....supervised systematic doping of East German athletes from 1971 until reunification in 1990." It was also reported in Sports Illustrated that.."Over 100 hundred USA athletes fail drugs tests that should have prevented them from competing in the Olympics...including Carl Lewis." In athletics, Ben Johnson was the poster boy for doping, only to be surpassed by Marion Jones and Justin Gatlin. Fast forward to Tyson Gay, Asafa Powell and Veronica Campbell-Brown.
If you though doping in athletics was astonishing, take a closer look at cycling. Lance Armstrong, the cancer survivor, admired by many, yours truly included, for so long fervently denied taking any performance enhancing drugs. Only to openly confess on Oprah Winfrey's show that he toke performance enhancing drugs such as EPO. He was stripped of his Tour De France titles from 1999-2005. Furthermore, according to Wikipedia, the winners of the Tour De France for 2006, American Floyd Landis and 2010, Spanaird, Alberto Contador were later stripped of there titles after testing postives.
Floyd Landis and Alberto Contador were both team mates of Lance Armstrong. Landis was apart of Armstrong's all conquering US Postal team during the early stages, this team also included, Tyler Hamiliton. Hamiliton in his book "The Secret Race", describe the systematic doping in professional cycling. Contador was later a part of Armstrong's Discovery Channel team in 2007. One common factor in both Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador success was team director, Johan Bruyneel. Jan Ullrich who won the Tour De France title in 1997, in an interview with German magazine Focus stated "Almost everybody back then took performance-enhancing substances."
America's favourie past-time, baseball, who can forget the chase. Mark McGwire vs Sammy Sosa in 1998, to break Roger Mais long standing and coveted single season record of 61 home runs. Mark McGwire breaking the record with 70 home runs and Sosa 66 home runs. Mark McGwire in 2010, later confessed to taking performance enhancing drugs throughout his career. Barry Bonds. They all hate him for breaking Hank Aaron's record. First, he broke McGwire's recording by hitting 73 home runs in 2001, he later broke Hank Aaron's longstanding record of 755 home runs.
Bonds was indicted on Federal Grand jury charge of perjury and lying to the grand jury, stemming from investigations into BALCO. Bonds testified that he never knowly taken performance enhancing drugs. In June 2013,ESPN reports that "MLB is set to suspend 20 baseballers in the coming week..scandal with performance enhancing drugs". Alex 'A-Rod' Rodriguez is one of the players according to the ESPN article that will be suspended.
Football legend Diego Maradona was once ban in 1991 for drug use, albeit, cocaine.
BBC news article, "Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell:- Olympic Sprinters fail drug test." What? Shocking!
In a conversation with my friend Norman before the US Trials I allude to the fact that after surgery last year on his hips I don't expect Tyson Gay to "double-up", run the 100m and 200m. But he did. In his season opener at the Jamaica Invitaional he ran 9.86. For an athlete that has had so many naggling injuries over the past three years, I started wondering. According to the BBC, when contacted Tyson Gay said, "I don't have a sabotage story... I basically put my trust in someone and was let down...I know exactly what went on, but I can't discuss it right now."
Asafa Powell has had naggling hamstring injuries recently, he even pulled up in the marquee 100m Finals at the London Olympics. One would have expected him to do an operation and sit out the season 2013. But no. He got injured early in the year at a meet in Australia, he aggravated said injure at meet at the National Stadium in May. I didn't even expect him to run at the National Trials, but he did. Only to pull up in the finals. Steven Francis, Asafa's longstanding coach, said Asafa broke team protocol when he hired the trainer, Canadian Christopher Xuereb. Asafa Powell and Sherene Simpson the two MVP athletes, denied "knowly taking any perfomance enhancing drugs".
The Gleaner reported, that Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jamaica Sprint Queen returned an adverse analytical finding believed to be triggered by a diuretic. This diuretic, classified as a masking agent by WADA code, hides the prersence of perfomancing enhancing drugs. Campbell-Brown, also denied taking any performance enhancing drug.
From the cases presented here none of the athletes at the time admitted taking performance enhancing drugs. From the Stasi to BALCO, the evidence is clear that doping is systematic in sports. One must admit that these programs will not stop. If athletes/management determine that spectators want super performance, they will find a way to generate that performance, even illegally. As we wait the ruling on latest drug cheaters, are we get value for our money when these athletes are absent from major games? Can we go back to the days of elite male athletes running 9.90?
I certainly cannot. In my opinon athletes will continue to take performance enhancing drugs. Why? to dominate the particular sports discipline he or she competes in.
Sunday, 21 July 2013
Thursday, 7 March 2013
Friday, 1 February 2013
Jamaica Gone Mad!!
Fourteen year old female strangled and body thrown out on roadside. Police cadets shot with live rounds during training at Police Academy...6 cadets injured, one dead. Four year old boy shot four times, dies after arguement between family members and others. Tell me what is going on?
Prime Minister declare that the Opposition Leader is an enemy of the state. What is going on? Leaders must lead!
The Jamaican dollars has devalued, until it has no value! Some individuals in the public sector are paid in excess of 10 million dollars annually, while 'essential' public sector individuals cannot get a pay increase. What is going?
The government challenges the OCG, The Courts rule in favour of the OCG! Now the Attorney General vex! Busfare soon increase, but wage restraint a the thing fe workers. The Public Defender cannot defend himself, miss deadlines, just talk, talk. What is going on? The Student Loan Bureau cannot meet the loan demands from students. What the Minister of Education suggest? Loans should be given to students who are/will be studying in a field that will contribute 'directly' to the country's GDP. Which course is that? Politicing? What is going on?
Well I have work tomorrow, let me sign off. I can't be late for work! Can't miss 'palimentary meetings'... oops...work. The boss might hire one of the many unemployed university graduates to replace me.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Jamaica and the IMF.
Politicians make promises, telling people vote for me. Saying I can make your life better, your fortune will change under my government. What is happening?
People anticipating an IMF deal, business confidence is low. Criminals have taken over the country, persons are scared. How long will the citizens of Jamaica accept this/
Wage restraint, high prices, no jobs...we need to start demanding better governance.
Be it the JLP or the PNP, they all must be held accountable. Stop making unrealistic promises. We all watch the news, some persons have Cable and Internet, we see what is going on in developed countries. How is it that our leaders can fool us so? Jamaica's Debt to GDP is in the top 5 in the world, yet leaders promise all kind of free things.
Can we afford free health and free education? I don't think so. Adequate programs like PATH should be available for persons who are in need.
When a 20 years old unemployed woman has two children, who will maintain them? The State? Jamaica is a joke. The average school leaver has no 'certification', bling bling is the culture.
Who will administer the bitter medicine,who will bell the cat? Who will tell the population that under the current circumstances, the country cannot afford this affluent lifestyle. 2013 in Jamaica cannot be business like usual.
Saturday, 5 January 2013
Monday, 31 December 2012
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