Gatlin

I have written about drugs in sport in previous blogs and wanted to reiterate something that has come to my attention this morning. Some of you will be aware of the return of Justin Gatlin to the 100 metres circuit this week, Gatlin who won the 2004 Olympic 100m gold and picked up bronze in the 200m. In 2006, Gatlin was banned from the sport for recording a high level of testosterone in his blood sample.

Gatlin was not stripped of any his medals from his previous achievements, but listening to an interview with him this morning he seemed completely unfazed and unaccountable to how he could have been banned from the sport and at what point he could have taken any drugs. (It is believed it was massaged into his thigh by a physio) Despite my dislike for cheats and the blame on others, it is meritable to point out that the likes of Dwain Chambers and Tim Montgomery have admitted their collusion and importantly their wrongs. Montgomery is currently serving time in prison under a four-year sentence and Chambers of course is racing again after several years out but will never compete in the Olympics. It will a disgrace to see someone like Gatlin racing in London at the 2012 games.

Dwain Chambers: Hollow Victory

I am one of those people who distrust those who question the value of sport or scorn any passing fixture in the sporting calendar. There is something illogical of people who give equivocal answers to their dislike and refuse to admire any form of athletic achievement. Doubting Thomas’s will certainly have to agree the power sport can possess in uniting countries, cultures and societies after years of civil unrest, war or hardship. Sport is an omnipresent good-will vehicle and forceful in breaking down barriers. After years of civil war in Cote D’Ivoire, it was the voice of their superstar striker Didier Drogba who called for an end to arms and a future of peace. How foreign diplomats would love that power. There are countless other examples.

Sport sells a dream and despite the commercialism and universal professionalism over the past half century, no one can deny the vivid aspirations of youngsters and that realisation when they fulfil those dreams; I bet everyone wishes they could hear their national anthem at an Olympic Games.

Watching the European Championships earlier tonight, there is one thing I cannot do and that is cheer on a cheat. The British sprinter Dwain Chambers is no doubt a real talent; however, whatever he does in the next few years his athletics' epitaph will be tarnished by his drug use. The competition in single-competitor sports is fierce and success is laden with financial and heroic plaudits, think of the Team GB’s cycling team in the last Olympics. In his autobiography Chambers claims that being placed outside the world’s top three would mean a substantial drop in pay from his paymaster’s Adidas. There is no doubt that there is a great deal of pressure at the top of sport and certainly in events where history is dictated in less than 10 seconds, a lifetime of practice can be extinguished or rewarded by the starter gun. Why then should someone morally corrupt their career and selfishly cheat those around him in the pursuit of success. Michael Johnson, the superb athlete and equally good pundit, explains that it took him four years to wipe less than a second of his 400m lap time and perfect his running style. That is an answer from an honest athlete, not someone looking for narcissistic admiration and hollow success. Chambers may be a reformed character and one of Britain’s finest athletes but ultimately his testimony of victimhood and desire to steal success is the nadir of sporting competition.