HRE wrote:
the problem's all inside your head wrote:
No, the problem is idiots like you. You people ARE the Drug problem but you're too ignorant to see it.
Sure. Explain to me how people not using PEDs ARE the drug problem in the sport. Please help with my ignorance. And while you're at it maybe explain why you think "Drug" required capitalization.
Once again, I can only whole heartedly agree with Armstronglivs — “think like rekrunner”.
But wishful thinking aside, don’t fall into the trap that there can only be one doping related problem in the sport. Sure, athletes using “PEDs” are a problem, and sure, let’s fund frequent, and foolproof, testing. (My idea is that non-African federations should fund it, as Africa has no money, and non-African athletes are the main beneficiaries of African testing anyway. Could be a global fund, managed by an independent global organization directing intelligent testing.)
But let’s recall we are in a thread where the OP laments: “After this morning’s result I’m struggling to find enjoyment in following this sport”.
This is one “fan’s” reaction, not based on any shred of evidence of doping, but simply on an outstanding performance. Many “fans” have gotten it into their head, that “doping” can be the only explanation. Gidey is just one in a long line of successful athletes who are bombarded with suspicions and accusations from “fans” of the sport, simply for the crime of having her training all coming together on race day, in the right conditions. When such negativity exists from many “fans” of the sport, simply for succeeding at what every athlete tries to do, this is not healthy for the sport, and is a lose-lose situation for the athletes, as whenever they win, they lose. It would be better for the sport for all of these negative fans to get up and follow Anne Audain out the door, and never come back.
Perhaps the problem is best illustrated by this extract from a peer-reviewed journal, rather than the crazy ramblings of an anonymous skeptic “rekrunner”:
"It is tempting to attribute outstanding performances to the alleged use of doping. The main problem with such a line of thinking is that the athlete will always lose in any such discussion: no matter how much he trains without the use of any prohibited substance, as soon as he excels he is, by default, a doping suspect. The essence of sport is to excel, and if excelling becomes synonymous with suspicions of cheating, each and every sport performance turns into an attack on the essence of sport itself. If such reasoning persists, this will seriously jeopardise the credibility of sport."
"It can be concluded that, on the basis of performances alone, an individual assessment on possible doping is simply not possible, and, in addition, any attempt to try to do this will violate the essence of sport. Linking extraordinary athletic performances to doping use is highly insulting to clean champions. Both scientifically and morally it is not recommended to try and link performance levels to doping use; at best performances can be used to identify general influences of anti-doping measures on the entire population of elite athletes."
Reference:
Prevalence of Doping Use in Elite Sports: A Review of Numbers and Methods
Olivier de Hon • Harm Kuipers • Maarten van Bottenburg
Sports Med (2015) 45:57–69 DOI 10.1007/s40279-014-0247-x