Gay and Powell fail drugs test.....

[irocfan]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/athletics/23307913

bit of a bummer for running fans

[944fan]

I saw the headline about Gay earlier. Didn't know Powell had failed also.

Really disappointing. Liked them both and appreciated certainly Gay being in contention to push Bolt. I like Bolt a lot but think he needs to be challenged by someone.

[simoid]

fking cheating s do my tits in.

[timlongs]

Apparently Jamaican media are reporting that 5 Jamaican athletes have failed doping tests

[andr3w]

It's becoming a farce, this is just further evidence that they're all at it. Are we to believe bolt is clean but still thrashing unclean runners?

[944fan]

andr3w said:

It's becoming a farce, this is just further evidence that they're all at it. Are we to believe bolt is clean but still thrashing unclean runners?

I hope the fk not. Running out of legends. Next we will be hearing that Batman took 'roids

[simoid]

andr3w said:

It's becoming a farce, this is just further evidence that they're all at it. Are we to believe bolt is clean but still thrashing unclean runners?

For every new cheat we find out about, it erodes the confidence in everyone else.

[andr3w]

944fan said:

andr3w said:

It's becoming a farce, this is just further evidence that they're all at it. Are we to believe bolt is clean but still thrashing unclean runners?

I hope the fk not. Running out of legends. Next we will be hearing that Batman took 'roids

He'll still be a legend in my opinion. After reading the secret race, I realised these athletes are put in an impossible situation. Either take drugs or have a nothing career while everyone else on drugs beats you.

[Bradgate]

This is awful news for athletics, which was perceived as a sport that had cleaned up its act in recent years.

The fact that so many sprinters appear to have tested positive for the same stimulant at the same time, along with Gay and Powell's comments today, suggest that this may turn out to be a 'dodgy / contaminated supplements' story, rather than a case of deliberate, systematic doping such as those of Ben Johnson or Dwain Chambers.

Edited by Bradgate on Monday 15th July 00:38

[Fittster]

When does a supplement become a drug?

[simoid]

Fittster said:

When does a supplement become a drug?

When it goes on the list of banned st?

[Bradgate]

simoid said:

When it goes on the list of banned st?

I may be giving Gay et al the benefit of the doubt here, but it sounds like what may have happened is that their supplements, which they took believing them be legit, contained a banned substance which should not have been present. Strict Liability means that the athletes are responsible for whatever is found in their bodies, so they tested positive.

[fuzzyyo]

andr3w said:

It's becoming a farce, this is just further evidence that they're all at it. Are we to believe bolt is clean but still thrashing unclean runners?

Thing with bolt is that he has a sufficiently different body shape to the rest of the field (i.e. tall, lean etc) to make his times believable as a quirk of his different nature. However after saying that I find it suspicious that nowadays so many sprinters easily beat the times set by the roided sprinters of the 80s and 90s. Im not sure sports science and training techniques have advanced enough for the drop in average times that we are seeing.

[goldblum]

Bradgate said:

simoid said:

When it goes on the list of banned st?

I may be giving Gay et al the benefit of the doubt here,

You are. They're guilty. World class athletes know exactly what passes between their lips whether it's described as food or supplements or whatever.

[longblackcoat]

goldblum said:

Bradgate said:

simoid said:

When it goes on the list of banned st?

I may be giving Gay et al the benefit of the doubt here,

You are. They're guilty. World class athletes know exactly what passes between their lips whether it's described as food or supplements or whatever.

I wonder whether they do. Short of having every morsel of food and drink tested before they eat/drink, it's not possible to absolutely know what everything's OK. And these athletes are all taking supplements, mostly totally legally; some push the limits more thasn others, perhaps.

In Tyson Gay's case, it's obvious that this is a very real fail, that he knows what's occurred, and that he's furious about it. Whether he's furious because he was caught, or because someone's let him down ........ I have no way of knowing, but I hope it's the latter. In some ways it doesn't matter; he'll be banned, and hopefully will never run for his country again.

As for Powell....I'm afraid I've heard too many mutterings about him for too long to be in the slightest bit surprised. And perhaps he may regret giving this interview.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/jul/25/athlet...

[Frio3535]

My initial reaction was around an issue of timing the cleansing agent incorrectly. Someone that Gay puts his trust in has mucked up. Will be interesting to see how it develops.

[goldblum]

longblackcoat said:

I wonder whether they do. Short of having every morsel of food and drink tested before they eat/drink, it's not possible to absolutely know what everything's OK. And these athletes are all taking supplements, mostly totally legally; some push the limits more thasn others, perhaps.

Athletes of this calibre actually have a fairly normal diet and eat what they like providing it's in the correct calorie range and balance of carbs/protein. From their formative years and all through their lives they will have taken a close interest in what food they take to produce the best results on the track. They know exactly what they're eating. The days of Iron Bloc coaches doping contestants without their knowledge passed thirty years ago and although cycling has had the odd famous case of individuals claiming they have been told it's team orders to follow the team doctor's supplement regime these things are rare.

The 'some push the limits' idea is a common one, but naive. Certain compounds are banned, others are not. There's no grey areas unless the athlete is on medication for an illness. The athletes know the risks if caught. Sport being what it is though it will always tempt some people to attempt to circumvent the rules.

Frio3535 said:

Someone that Gay puts his trust in has mucked up.

Quite possibly. It may be simply that the testing body changed the published testing schedule at short notice and caught them out. Often when this happens athletes are 'unavailable' for the test or to provide a sample, which equals a ban anyway but no stigma of being found guilty. Also the chance that with a good lawyer an obscure defence might just mitigate the ban two years hence.

[over_the_hill]

fuzzyyo said:

Thing with bolt is that he has a sufficiently different body shape to the rest of the field (i.e. tall, lean etc) to make his times believable as a quirk of his different nature. However after saying that I find it suspicious that nowadays so many sprinters easily beat the times set by the roided sprinters of the 80s and 90s. Im not sure sports science and training techniques have advanced enough for the drop in average times that we are seeing.

Equipment has also played a part - and small gains here and there can account for a few tenths when it all gets added together taking a 10.0/10.1 down to a 9.8/9.9

Improvements in track technology have come along way in the last 20+ years to the extent where specially hard sprint friendly tracks are laid for Olympics and other major Champs. (They kill the distance runners but hey-ho as long as we get the sub-10 final !!)

Additionally starting blocks today would be unrecognisable 20+ years back and likewise running spikes.

[Frio3535]

goldblum said:

Quite possibly. It may be simply that the testing body changed the published testing schedule at short notice and caught them out. Often when this happens athletes are 'unavailable' for the test or to provide a sample, which equals a ban anyway but no stigma of being found guilty. Also the chance that with a good lawyer an obscure defence might just mitigate the ban two years hence.

US athletes like Tyson are allowed up to 3 misses within an 18 month period ie - not taking a test, random or otherwise. Thats USADA policy. The very top athletes like Tyson give the governing body a 1hr window, when they will always be available, and a 3 month schedule. You can work around that quite nicely, it's not so random really.

[lenandsons]

Sometimes I wonder if all this testing and banning of substances is not a mugs game? Maybe the best bet is to follow the body building route and run two sets of competion "natural" and "the rest" then it is up to the fans/supporters/spectators to decide which path they follow.
And the crazy thing is when I watch sport be it cycling, athletics, football etc, I never ever find myself wondering what stimulants/chemicals the athletes are on, IMHO to the vast majority of supporters it is of very little consequence at all. All IMVHO naturally