Skip to main content

OLYMPICS, DOPERS AND LIFE BANS

A lifetime Olympic ban for dopers is a duty.
Unlike in various sports' federations, the Olympics has a specific message to deliver and allowing dopers back into the fold goes against those values.
The Olympics was created with the ethos of peace and inclusion.
In Ancient Greece, wars stopped for the duration of the games, enemies faced each other in healthy competitions instead of throwing weapons at each other. The purpose, to get a glimpse of equality in the eyes of the Gods, recharging and motivating patriotism by the inclusion of all. The Games have values, of freedom, peace and above all respect.
It was not meant to be for professionals to take part, but money talks and professionals are invited to take part. Money has ruined the Olympics as it has created a commercial monster, aimed at companies' wealth and trade. That has brought fierce competition which has pushed doping to stellar heights to gain results.
The only way to try retain the original spirit is to stop the win-at-all-cost attitude. That means dopers should be banned and stay banned.

Take the example of David Millar in cycling. He doped, served his time given by the Federation, then came back and is currently riding for Garmin-Cervelo Team. Allegedly Sky would have wanted him in their team, but their ethics prevent them from hiring riders with doping history. If that ethos is good enough for a team why can't it be good enough for the Olympics (or the other teams as well). After all the reason for that ethos is that sponsors don't want any connection to doping if at all possible. And perhaps sponsors wouldn't leave the sport as fast as this.

Life ban is harsh but necessary if the Games want to retain the respect other sports have lost on the way.

Comments

  1. Charlie21 November 2011 at 16:00

    I fully agree with every word of this. In my opinion, irrespective of country or organizations, no-one who doped should be included in these games. All it would do is cheapen the Olympics and possibly prevent a clean rider/athlete etc from competing because a doper has been allocated a place on the respective teams. Life ban should stay.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Larry and Heather24 November 2011 at 18:06

    Money has ruined the Olympics? Yes, before only the rich and noble could take part, but now anyone with ability can possibly win the gold medal, even those bottom feeders who actually compete in sport to make a living. While Larry doesn't agree with your reasoning he does feel national federations should be able to select athletes based on certain merits. Especially as the Olympics offer no prize money there's a privilege to represent your country. If your country doesn't want you because you once cheated and were caught, too bad.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous25 November 2011 at 10:42

    Bizarrely there is an EPO advert on the side of this page!

    Agree with the sentiment. However it is a shame in David Millar's case as he's one of the only ex-dopers to become a strong anti-doping campaigner. He's now doing a lot of good, using the experience of his mistakes to help others.
    Separate doping Olympic matter. It's strange that we still hold Ben Johnson as one of the worst offenders when history is showing all 8 in that final line up were "enhanced", he was very much in a level playing field.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

REACH OUT, TALK TO PEOPLE

I wanted to share what we did at the weekend in the hope to inspire other people to try what my partner and I ended up doing. A few days ago we were walking the dogs late in the afternoon and on the way back, in this big field, we noticed an elderly woman walking slowly leaning on her stick. We asked if she was ok as she seemed tentative and a little confused. The very first thing she said, almost without realising that's what she was going to say was: "You are the first people I've spoken to all day". Neither of us expected that so we stayed with her, chatting away for about 40 minutes. We ended up walking her back to her house, exchange numbers and invite her for a Sunday roast. She was going to be 89 a few days later and it seemed a nice thing to do. She was really touched as she didn't have it in her to cook a roast for herself (and she admitted she hated cooking).
Post a Comment
Read more

LA CLASSICISSIMA, A PREVIEW

As classics go, Milano-Sanremo is the longest of them all (almost 300km) and one of the oldest (1907). Eddy Merckx has won it a record 7 times. It has been marred by late snow at times and its route has been modified here and there, but at its core is the length and flatness, so one for the sprinters traditionally but not so much of late. There are a few lumps, but although short and not very steep, they usually come at the end of a long day on the saddle and have been decisive in the outcome of the race. In recent times, the climbs of Cipressa (added in 1982) and Poggio (added in 1960) have been the theatres of all-out attacks. The breakneck and twisty descent from the Poggio especially, induced some of the most entertaining racing... and some awful crashes too. The finish in the town of Sanremo has moved posts a few times but whether it was in the false flat of Via Roma or on the pan flat promenade by the sea, many a time it has ended in a bunch sprint.
Post a Comment
Read more

GIRO 2019 SO FAR - THE GOOD AND THE NOT SO GOOD

The Giro, like any Grand Tour, is a race of attrition, grit, resistance, luck and sheer determination that goes on for three weeks. The mental and physical demands are huge and some riders can deliver under this pressure. Others, albeit talented, crumble under the weight of expectation. So it is that every year it becomes a lottery for the lucky and the healthy and the fit. Results, or lack of, before the race is not always a good indicator. This article is not about Nibali, Roglic or Mollema, who are expected to do a good job as leaders and they have. This is about those athletes who have impressed the most or underperformed according to their skillsets (no comment on those who have left). THE GOOD RICHARD CARAPAZ (Movistar) Although 4th last year, the Ecuadorian tends to be quiet the rest of the season, so his rise in the general classification is never a given. He climbs faster than anyone else and his initial brief might have been to be Landa's right-hand man on the
Post a Comment
Read more