These two statements from two of the track & Field governing bodies regarding the information implicating
other athletes that came out of testimony at the Treavor Graham trial.
Lamine Diack, president of track’s
international governing body, in a conference call with reporters Thursday,
noted the eight-year statute of limitations on doping offenses.
Jill Geer, spokeswoman for USA Track
& Field, said in a telephone interview: “The things that have been coming
to light over the past several years have primarily been events that occurred
four to ten years ago. Our current athletes are trying to remain focused on their
present and their future.”
These two
statements speak volumes about why there will always be a problem. The
governing bodies refuse to confront the issue. They chose to hide behind statute
of limitations and legalize. As far as USA Track & Field -What happened to
their zero tolerance policy? Conveniently forgotten? If there was ever was an
organization that needed to clean up their house it is USA Track & Field.
They are afraid to go after the drug coaches. They have ex- athletes serving on
development committees who were banned for doping, what message does that send?
These organizations really do not want to clean up the sport, they want the
scandal to go away so they can continue to run their Roman circus freak show
and keep pushing those records higher, faster and longer. The ultimate bottom
line is there is too much sponsorship and TV money at stake for them to take a
stand.
phillip bazzini
Great points coach. World class track is a disappointment. With the upcoming Bejing games and all the emphasis on a country’s medal count, doping is here to stay. The pressure to win is too great. That’s why I like HS and Master’s track. Pure, clean, and done for the love of the sport.
Rich Mowrer PTA,CSCS
speaking of organizations who need to clean up their act I thing USADA and WADA need to re-vamp their processess the Floyd Landis debacle is clear evidence that any chance @ defence is stacked against the athlete!!!
stan jacobs
I’m sure the sport is far from clean but at least they busted a big name like Gatlin. How about the 4 game suspension the NFL gives? What a joke!
Bolivar
you couldn’t be more right. it is depressing , frustrating and sometimes very confusing to be a fan of the the sports where doping is more prevalent in the media: track&field and cycling. Which performances are ligit, which teams are actually fighting it (Slipstream and ironically CSC led by Bjarne Riis) and why are the governing bodies always accusing every athlete who has a stunning performance? Floyd’s ride on stage 17 was anything but unrealistic – poor tactics and pure guts. So in the end because they wanted to make an example of him + poor lab results and procedures which were shown = a righteous cause proving their point.
Fitness Blogger
The problem, is that athletes are so focused on breaking records,that there is a massive incentive, to keep pushing the boundaries out.
Sympathy
I think that doping is so prevalent in major sports now, that they do not want to rock the apple cart and expose it. Too much money involved.
St patrick
I think that doping is now a permanent problem, it will never be defeated, as it is too easy to get the drugs involved, rigorous testing will have to be continued