FooFighter
Well-Known Forumite
Now that Dwain has served his ban, come clean about what happened and named names, should he be allowed to compete for Britain in the Olympics?
-
Welcome to Stafford Forum. Please or sign-up and start posting!
Dwain Chambers
- Thread starter FooFighter
- Start date
FooFighter
Well-Known Forumite
So the deterrent is getting caught and the stigma that goes with it and not ruining your future career and earnings?
tek-monkey
wanna see my snake?
Honestly? Can't believe I'm saying this considering my own past, but no I think anyone caught taking performance enhancing drugs should be banned for life. Otherwise whats the point, may as well take the drugs early on cos if you do get caught you can still go back after a few years before you're past it.
FooFighter
Well-Known Forumite
Turns out his opposition were also supplied by the same drugs company (Balco) so has there ever been a level playing field?MISS T said:
Some of Americas biggest sporting stars have been supplied by Balco and not checked when they should have been.
Classic America - Money talks
This statement from Victor Conte, Balco boss , makes interesting reading
gon2seed
(and me! - Ed)
I feel terribly split by this one!
I competed to national level at 400m and 400m hurdles in the 80's, training rediculously hard at a totally amature level. The dedication needed to reach international standard is probably unbelievable to those who have not been part of it. You have to be obsessed, and unless you are tremendously naturally talented, you won't get any financial help in those years while you are striving to get to the top level.
I was never offered chemical enhancements on the way up, but I was when I was past it, and going to a gym.
I knew people who were taking drugs at every level of athletics at the time, and some of them were household names. Members of my own training groups were taking drugs, though you would be hard pushed to get them to admit it. The cardinal rule is always to deny it until you can't deny it any more!
In the former Eastern Bloc athletes were routinely monitored and given drugs by team doctors. This was established by the German Athletics authorities after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Many atheletes in Britian argued that the only way to compete with these atheletes was to "join them".
I wish I could say that this has changed, but I am afraid some of the stuff coming from the Balco / Chambers story probably means it hasn't! Certainly the performances in the womens sprint events, and some of the mens and women's heavy throwing events have stagnated, or even gone into rapid decline. BUt every time I see a record broken, I can't help asking myeslf "I wonder what he/she was on"
Two final points:
The answer could be an amnesty on drug use, with no recriminations, followed by proper systematic blood testing. Without this Track & Field is going to continue to lose popularity. It has largely fallen from it's place near the top of world sport, and it will continue to wane every time a scandal pops up.
We are the only nation who currently upholds an complete Olympic ban for drug takers, and while that may be admirable, I think it may get overturned in court. The demonisation of Dwayne does seem a little unfair when there are 100's probably 1'000's of others at exactly the same game!
I competed to national level at 400m and 400m hurdles in the 80's, training rediculously hard at a totally amature level. The dedication needed to reach international standard is probably unbelievable to those who have not been part of it. You have to be obsessed, and unless you are tremendously naturally talented, you won't get any financial help in those years while you are striving to get to the top level.
I was never offered chemical enhancements on the way up, but I was when I was past it, and going to a gym.
I knew people who were taking drugs at every level of athletics at the time, and some of them were household names. Members of my own training groups were taking drugs, though you would be hard pushed to get them to admit it. The cardinal rule is always to deny it until you can't deny it any more!
In the former Eastern Bloc athletes were routinely monitored and given drugs by team doctors. This was established by the German Athletics authorities after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Many atheletes in Britian argued that the only way to compete with these atheletes was to "join them".
I wish I could say that this has changed, but I am afraid some of the stuff coming from the Balco / Chambers story probably means it hasn't! Certainly the performances in the womens sprint events, and some of the mens and women's heavy throwing events have stagnated, or even gone into rapid decline. BUt every time I see a record broken, I can't help asking myeslf "I wonder what he/she was on"
Two final points:
The answer could be an amnesty on drug use, with no recriminations, followed by proper systematic blood testing. Without this Track & Field is going to continue to lose popularity. It has largely fallen from it's place near the top of world sport, and it will continue to wane every time a scandal pops up.
We are the only nation who currently upholds an complete Olympic ban for drug takers, and while that may be admirable, I think it may get overturned in court. The demonisation of Dwayne does seem a little unfair when there are 100's probably 1'000's of others at exactly the same game!