Did Athletics gets what it deserves?

[blahblah]

Gaitlin wins the 100m, ruining a glorious retirement for Bolt; and bringing PED's back to the fore in a sport with a rather MASSIVE broom and rug

[forestfan]

Well, it's failed spectacularly to take advantage of having the biggest star in world sport for the past decade, and to deal with the issues... at least the crowd know how to respond to the cheat, unlike the commentators shamefully biting their tongues.

I think Bolt will be back before Tokyo if nobody steps up and runs close to the sort of times he used to in the next year or so. He won't want the unsatisfactory, cheats-prosper ending, even if they win the relay.

[mad dog]

Well and truly booed before and after. still crazy a bloke banned for drug taking is allowed to compete. That's done althetics no favours tonight.

[forestfan]

Well and truly booed before and after. still crazy a bloke banned for drug taking is allowed to compete. That's done althetics no favours tonight.

Banned twice as well, it's not even a case of forgiving one mistake...

[murf]

I think many would forgive his first ban but to get done properly after having already been banned was stupid and shameful.

Almost as stupid and shameful as the athletics rules that let him back in.

Ruins what has been a cracking start to the championships.

Been 2 excellent long distance finals of different sorts. A 46 second win in the women's and a much closer win for Mo. Mind you I ran nearly 46s faster than Mo's time on my Parkrun this morning.

[Mystery]

Mind you I ran nearly 46s faster than Mo's time on my Parkrun this morning.

[blahblah]

A 46 second win in the women's

Yep, and I just thought PEDs etc....

and a much closer win for Mo.

And similar thoughts there

For me, they haven't caught anywhere near enough, and probably haven't even tried.... But then it's only Cycling, Weightlifting and Nordic Skiing that have drug cheats, with a few swimmers (but not the Irish, as that was a one off by a nasty woman, or her coach who did it to her without her knowing...) Oh and anything else Russia and China are any good at.

Mind you I ran nearly 46s faster than Mo's time on my Parkrun this morning.

800m? Or do you have better drugs?

If I were Gaitlin, I wouldn't let that sample out of my sight until it has been tested..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb0Jmy-JYbA

[blahblah]

At 56 secs is that "shove it up your nose" for real

[Mystery]

800m? Or do you have better drugs?

parkrunner humour. It's a 5k run

[unc.si.]

been away but just catching up with the athletics now.

Bit of a sad state of affairs really. I honestly don't know where things go from here. Gatlin winning is obviously bad PR but maybe its just what the sport needs. Surely they can't just ignore doping now the PED poster boy has a gold medal round his neck?

At least Gatlins time was believable, unlike the womens 10k. Has everybody just accepted that the long distance races are a doping free for all now?

[Tacalabala]

been away but just catching up with the athletics now.

Bit of a sad state of affairs really. I honestly don't know where things go from here. Gatlin winning is obviously bad PR but maybe its just what the sport needs. Surely they can't just ignore doping now the PED poster boy has a gold medal round his neck?

At least Gatlins time was believable, unlike the womens 10k. Has everybody just accepted that the long distance races are a doping free for all now?

I was lucky enough to be in the ground. It's strange, you sit there and enjoy the spectacle of the 10k, but on the drive home you do think to yourself - was that possible, can someone really be that dominant at the top level?

I don't know, her splits versus Diaba don't suggest unusual patterns:

AYANA Split D time D rank
1000m 00:03:30 00:03:30 10
2000m 00:06:49 00:03:18 9
3000m 00:09:59 00:03:11 8
4000m 00:13:02 00:03:03 7
5000m 00:15:51 00:02:49 1
6000m 00:18:43 00:02:52 3
7000m 00:21:35 00:02:52 4
8000m 00:24:30 00:02:55 5
9000m 00:27:27 00:02:57 6
10000m 00:30:16 00:02:49 2

DIBABA Split D time D rank
1000m 00:03:31 00:03:31 10
2000m 00:06:50 00:03:19 9
3000m 00:10:00 00:03:09 8
4000m 00:13:04 00:03:05 6
5000m 00:16:01 00:02:56 2
6000m 00:19:00 00:03:00 3
7000m 00:22:03 00:03:02 4
8000m 00:25:08 00:03:06 7
9000m 00:28:13 00:03:04 5
10000m 00:31:03 00:02:50 1

As for Gatlin, the fact is that he was convicted twice. Is anyone seriously telling me that if there had been any doubt about either case, that he wouldn't have gone to court (legal and CAS)? He didn't, so it's clear he is guilty. Gatlin's coach for the second incident was a high profile individual at the heart of the BALCO case, and as someone pointed out last night, how was Gatlin able to give the IAAF information on doping to reduce his suspension if he wasn't himself involved to some degree? We know he isn't sorry, just sorry for getting caught, and he doesn't give a toss what anyone else thinks.

[Mav3rick]

I only really tune in for the big athletics meets, and while the sport and Bolt's story interests me (obviously) it's the crowd reaction to Gatlin that was the most interesting thing last night for me. Ok, so Gatlin is a bit of a pantomime villain (surely there are other athletes are also competing after returning from a ban but not getting booed) but was that reaction a "British" crowd thing or is it representative of the feeling of spectators throughout the world?

I assume that nations like Australia would definitely have the same reaction, but what about the rest of the world, do people really care about the doping in most places as that seems the underlying issue to me? It just seems like such a simple issue to solve if the will is there, lifetime bans from Olympics and World Championships and the problem goes away, doesn't it?

Drugs cheats can presumably still earn a living on the diamond league circuit, and the IOC/IAAF was able to ban the Russians from Rio easily enough, I just don't see what the issue is in coming down hard on people that cheat. It must be that most of the people running the sport don't want it stopped?

[Tacalabala]

I only really tune in for the big athletics meets, and while the sport and Bolt's story interests me (obviously) it's the crowd reaction to Gatlin that was the most interesting thing last night for me. Ok, so Gatlin is a bit of a pantomime villain (surely there are other athletes are also competing after returning from a ban but not getting booed) but was that reaction a "British" crowd thing or is it representative of the feeling of spectators throughout the world?

I had Jamaicans, Germans and Swiss supporters close by and they were just as ferocious in their hatred. Honestly, it was terrible, men and women shouting "soap", "cheat", "disgrace".

I assume that nations like Australia would definitely have the same reaction, but what about the rest of the world, do people really care about the doping in most places as that seems the underlying issue to me? It just seems like such a simple issue to solve if the will is there, lifetime bans from Olympics and World Championships and the problem goes away, doesn't it?

You need to take it case by case, for me unless the authority felt that the athletic had deliberately tried to use drugs and/or evade detection, then they should not be named, and go into a 6-12 month re-education programme but still allowed to compete albeit with a much increased testing plan. If the authority felt it was a deliberate attempt, and/or the athlete has failed to comply with testing procedures, they should be banned for 4 years on first conviction, and lifetime on second. I would also wipe their record for their career up to that point.

Drugs cheats can presumably still earn a living on the diamond league circuit, and the IOC/IAAF was able to ban the Russians from Rio easily enough, I just don't see what the issue is in coming down hard on people that cheat. It must be that most of the people running the sport don't want it stopped?

I think it's a litigation issue, they are so worried about making a mistake and getting hammered in a court of law that they take a conservative position on it which is only satisfactory for the dopers.

[Mav3rick]

Paula Radcliffe (who always seems to talk well on the issue) has described it as being an issue with WADA and their regulations with regards to restraint of trade. I don't know how WADA is operated (elected officials, etc) but it sounds like any change needs to be directed from them down.

[forestfan]

Athletics is certainly at a crossroads, losing its two biggest stars shortly and with this issue constantly resurfacing and not being adequately dealt with.

It's the most natural of all sporting endeavours - who can run the fastest, jump the furthest etc. so should always have a broad public appeal. But it's kept sliding down the pecking order for a variety of reasons. The Olympics remains its saving grace, but its status as the blue riband event even there is diminishing somewhat as other sports have increased their profile.

How well cycling has addressed the doping issue remains up for debate, but it's clear that you can't get away with the large scale blatant doping of the past, at least, people wouldn't bend the rules with TUEs etc. if you could. Do they use the biological passports and so on in athletics? Or is it just accepted that they can't keep track of everyone training in the mountains of East Africa?

[blahblah]

]Drugs cheats can presumably still earn a living on the diamond league circuit, and the IOC/IAAF was able to ban the Russians from Rio easily enough, I just don't see what the issue is in coming down hard on people that cheat. It must be that most of the people running the sport don't want it stopped?

I think it's a litigation issue, they are so worried about making a mistake and getting hammered in a court of law that they take a conservative position on it which is only satisfactory for the dopers.

The people at the top are Marketing this, and want Sponsors and bums on seats: so do you think that they have any interest in coming down on someone who cheats if that someone is of the reputation of Boult, Rudisha, Shippers etc? This is the elephant in the room of ALL sports, but I apologise to and commend any sport that has separated these contradictory arms.

re Ben Johnson: he was always the villain to "nice" Carl Lewis... (Weren't the samples of that final retrospectively tested years later, and there was only 1 athlete that didn't fail?)

re Ayanna and Dibaba: that is a lot of 1k's under 3 mins, not to mention Dibaba's "burst" in the last km was slower than 2 of Ayanna's.... Enjoy: http://www.letsrun.com/news/2016/06/eve ... s-present/

[forestfan]

I always wonder if Bolt is too good to be true in that all his major rivals, who he's consistently beaten over the years (Gatlin, Gay, Blake, Powell...) have been implicated in something drug related, whether major or minor. Just reminiscent of the Lance Armstrong situation where it got to the point where he was the only supposedly clean one and was still beating everyone else.

I hope Bolt is just a freak of nature, a once in a lifetime talent, and it would effectively kill the sport if anything untoward came out about him, even after his retirement. So we might never know anyway.

[Tacalabala]

Yeah, if Bolt has dabbled at all, athletics is basically dead.

[forestfan]

If there was anything on him the Russians would probably have hacked it by now I guess...

[forestfan]

Now they've made the cowardly decision to move the medal ceremony to before the events start tonight.

[blahblah]

Depends if it got stored\saved in those Servers?

There was an issue with Jamaica's Drug testing a few years ago - but a few have been "caught" since then.....

I am not saying he has been doping ditto the others I mentioned - but they haven't caught and exposed\suspended anywhere enough athletes for me to believe that most of the Competitors are clean, let alone the winners.

[forestfan]

Well, obviously it's impossible to prove anyone is clean. The best you can say is there's no strong evidence to the contrary. There's nothing that's really stuck in Bolt's case, aside from general questions about his country's procedures, whereas others have not been caught but have clear links to someone dodgy.

[bluenosey]

I only really tune in for the big athletics meets, and while the sport and Bolt's story interests me (obviously) it's the crowd reaction to Gatlin that was the most interesting thing last night for me. Ok, so Gatlin is a bit of a pantomime villain (surely there are other athletes are also competing after returning from a ban but not getting booed) but was that reaction a "British" crowd thing or is it representative of the feeling of spectators throughout the world?

I had Jamaicans, Germans and Swiss supporters close by and they were just as ferocious in their hatred. Honestly, it was terrible, men and women shouting "soap", "cheat", "disgrace".

I've little sympathy. The problem with Gatlin is there is no remorse. "I cheated, I served my ban, so what" type of attitude. I tried to book tickets last year for the Friday but was too late and missed out. Slightly glad in a way. Yeah, there are others that have cheated but not quite so high profile. For him to win at 35, it's a big hmmm, we'll never know. Also, the IAAF/IOC shouldn't have changed the bans back to two years for the first offence years ago. Four is probably about right.
As for the crowd, well, fair play IMO. I remember the poor French pole vaulter in the Olympics getting booed mercilessly because he was up against a Brazilian in Rio. The British would never do that at Athletics.

Back to the sport and the ladies 100m was a cracker. It's all in the dip ! Disappointing performances though from Andy Pozzi, KJT and Holly Bradshaw. Unfortunately this shows that without Cycling and Rowing, all Olympic haul would be a lot less relying on track and field. Especially now Mo has gone

Special mention to Callum Hawkins in the men's marathon who mixed it with the Rift Valley Africans. Fourth was a fantastic result.

[bluenosey]

I only really tune in for the big athletics meets, and while the sport and Bolt's story interests me (obviously) it's the crowd reaction to Gatlin that was the most interesting thing last night for me. Ok, so Gatlin is a bit of a pantomime villain (surely there are other athletes are also competing after returning from a ban but not getting booed) but was that reaction a "British" crowd thing or is it representative of the feeling of spectators throughout the world?

I had Jamaicans, Germans and Swiss supporters close by and they were just as ferocious in their hatred. Honestly, it was terrible, men and women shouting "soap", "cheat", "disgrace".

I've little sympathy. The problem with Gatlin is there is no remorse. "I cheated, I served my ban, so what" type of attitude. I tried to book tickets last year for the Friday but was too late and missed out. Slightly glad in a way. Yeah, there are others that have cheated but not quite so high profile. For him to win at 35, it's a big hmmm, we'll never know. Also, the IAAF/IOC shouldn't have changed the bans back to two years for the first offence years ago. Four is probably about right.
As for the crowd, well, fair play IMO. I remember the poor French pole vaulter in the Olympics getting booed mercilessly because he was up against a Brazilian in Rio. The British would never do that at Athletics.

Back to the sport and the ladies 100m was a cracker. It's all in the dip ! Disappointing performances though from Andy Pozzi, KJT and Holly Bradshaw. Unfortunately this shows that without Cycling and Rowing, all Olympic haul would be a lot less relying on track and field. Especially now Mo has gone

Special mention to Callum Hawkins in the men's marathon who mixed it with the Rift Valley Africans. Fourth was a fantastic result.

[Tacalabala]

Yeah that was a top effort in the marathon

[unc.si.]

Can’t believe Gatlins still going and still winning major medals at 63.
It’s amazing what modern medicine can achieve

[forestfan]

Gatlin just refuses to go away, maybe he is just in the Federer/Ronaldo/Brady category of people who defy age, but there’s a fair chance the drugs he took early in his career provided a lasting benefit.

Coleman now has a stain on his reputation himself due to the missed tests, but still, good to see the young pretender step up and produce the goods on the big stage. The sport will never find another Bolt (and it really missed the chance to build a legacy from a once in a generation superstar) but it needs new stars not recycled cheats taking the big honours.

[blahblah]

I don't watch it any more as I doubt many are clean.

A few years back I went to the Manchester street thing. Schippers had the PED look from the 80's ie spots and odd looking jaw. That typed I was behind the start and her power off the start was impressive not to mention the noise.

[unc.si.]

I don't watch it any more as I doubt many are clean.

A few years back I went to the Manchester street thing. Schippers had the PED look from the 80's ie spots and odd looking jaw. That typed I was behind the start and her power off the start was impressive not to mention the noise.

The noise? A little bit of extra jet propulsion??

[blahblah]

I don't watch it any more as I doubt many are clean.

A few years back I went to the Manchester street thing. Schippers had the PED look from the 80's ie spots and odd looking jaw. That typed I was behind the start and her power off the start was impressive not to mention the noise.

The noise? A little bit of extra jet propulsion??

And people think I'm immature (She looked kinda hot as did a hurdler of ours with blue streaks in blonde hair)

No the thundering of her feet on the raised track thing.