But if Hull is dirty and Mu is dirty and Bell is dirty and Kara Goucher was dirty, then why do you still think the sport is fun to watch?
Honest answer: I don't, at least not at the pro level. Is that my fault? I'll turn this around on you. By your own criteria, the tippy top of the women's fields are all compromised, including Hassan. How do you justify supporting cheaters?
We used to think the moral corruption was limited to the evil socialists (E. Germany and Russia) or a poor few who had been seduced by the dark side (Makhloufi, Marion Jones). Then it turned out our own USADA was complicit in enabling doping at a high level.
There's a part of me that still believes that, even among the farther reaches of the bell curve, you can have exceptions to the exception. I believed that about Asbel Kiprop. He had ridiculous proportions, his form oozed efficiency, he seemed like an anomaly amongst anomalies. Then he got popped.
So I don't know, Ruxton. I don't know how anyone can look at this landscape and enjoy it without intentionally skewing their own moral compass. But I do know that my jaded feelings aren't my fault. I lay them at the feet of Kiprop, and Makhloufi, and Alberto Salazar, and Shelby Houlihan, and USADA, and every athlete, coach, and organization that has supported cheating over the decades.
What about the collegiate level? There are plenty who think doping is common in the NCAA, so what’s to stop them from taking the same disapproving tone with you that you’ve taken with Ruxton? Chiding people for their views on this subject doesn’t seem productive, because at the end of the day, all of us are really just guessing, aren’t we?
I enjoy professional track and field even though I assume the majority of elites are doping, and I don’t feel any moral qualms about my stance. These athletes don’t need to be paragons of virtue for me to be inspired by their efforts or appreciate their performances. I’m resigned to the fact that doping is just part of the game. Yes, it’s cheating that necessitates lying and a certain measure of rationalize (aka self-delusion), but you see this same sort of self-serving dishonesty everywhere, even in the most banal settings where stakes are minimal. Why would a professional sport with the promise of money and status and a desirable lifestyle be any different?
I don’t feel any hostility towards dopers, even after they get caught. It simply isn’t personal to me.
I think Hassan suffers from Eliud Kipchoge syndrome where nothing she says makes any sense. Another brilliant runner with a less than brilliant verbal IQ.
If Sifan is doping then she has been able to get away with it for 5 years as the most high profile distance athlete on the planet, while all around her were testing positive. That takes some doing. Even Farah slipped up and got popped at least once.
I think Hassan suffers from Eliud Kipchoge syndrome where nothing she says makes any sense. Another brilliant runner with a less than brilliant verbal IQ.
I think Hassan suffers from Eliud Kipchoge syndrome where nothing she says makes any sense. Another brilliant runner with a less than brilliant verbal IQ.
To all the people who are "being realistic" and claiming that everyone is probably doped, why do you still follow the sport at the pro level?
Because it is absolutely hilarious to see a champion get busted and to look at all the lying they did in the years up to their bust. Look at Armstrong; that was a brilliant piece of entertainment seeing him and his entire team go down and then the confession on Oprah. Hearing about all these Kenyan doping busts every week is just top rate comedy when for decades journalists were telling us it was all about these guys being super dedicated running to school each morning. Seeing someone like Mo or Hassan going down would also be highly entertaining so hopefully someone will get a leak or a confession in the future. Basically, the doping busts are now much more interesting than the medals so anti-doping organizations need to step up their game and go straight for the big names without any fear of having cover ups enforced upon them by the sports governing bodies.
To all the people who are "being realistic" and claiming that everyone is probably doped, why do you still follow the sport at the pro level?
You actually might be right, I am not arguing that runners are always clean just because they haven't tested positive. You might be right about Hassan and Hull and all the rest.
But if Hull is dirty and Mu is dirty and Bell is dirty and Kara Goucher was dirty, then why do you still think the sport is fun to watch?
I know doping is a serious problem in our sport but I also have to draw a line somewhere. For me, that "somewhere" is:
1) an actual positive test or a national doping program like East Germany
or
2) a performance that is out of line with the rest of humanity (like the women's 400, 800, and marathon WRs).
Those two criteria create my "line in the sand" but if I move that line to include "everyone who is good" then there would be nobody left to watch in pro running. Which as you might say, could be the case! Fine. But if so, why are you still on these pro running threads?
p.s. Here, for example is someone who crossed "my line" of having a performance that is out of touch with the rest of the women in history. 400m in 47.60 is not possible for a clean biologically female runner (at least not in that era). Here is the all-time top-4:
Unbelievable athletes are often relieved of the doping accusations if they’re able to maintain their unbelievable level year after year. This has largely happened for Hassan, who is still one of the most likely dopers around.
2019, Salazar gets banned and then Hassan closes the Doha 10k in 3:59 and front-runs a 3:51 on pure hate? Sure.
Sorry but if Jess Hull and Georgia bell can run 3:50-3:52 and Kipyegon can run 3:49.04 there's nothing particualrly suspicious about super talent Hassan front running 3:51 high
To all the people who are "being realistic" and claiming that everyone is probably doped, why do you still follow the sport at the pro level?
You actually might be right, I am not arguing that runners are always clean just because they haven't tested positive. You might be right about Hassan and Hull and all the rest.
But if Hull is dirty and Mu is dirty and Bell is dirty and Kara Goucher was dirty, then why do you still think the sport is fun to watch?
I know doping is a serious problem in our sport but I also have to draw a line somewhere. For me, that "somewhere" is:
1) an actual positive test or a national doping program like East Germany
or
2) a performance that is out of line with the rest of humanity (like the women's 400, 800, and marathon WRs).
Those two criteria create my "line in the sand" but if I move that line to include "everyone who is good" then there would be nobody left to watch in pro running. Which as you might say, could be the case! Fine. But if so, why are you still on these pro running threads?
p.s. Here, for example is someone who crossed "my line" of having a performance that is out of touch with the rest of the women in history. 400m in 47.60 is not possible for a clean biologically female runner (at least not in that era). Here is the all-time top-4:
If Sifan is doping then she has been able to get away with it for 5 years as the most high profile distance athlete on the planet, while all around her were testing positive. That takes some doing. Even Farah slipped up and got popped at least once.
To all the people who are "being realistic" and claiming that everyone is probably doped, why do you still follow the sport at the pro level?
You actually might be right, I am not arguing that runners are always clean just because they haven't tested positive. You might be right about Hassan and Hull and all the rest.
But if Hull is dirty and Mu is dirty and Bell is dirty and Kara Goucher was dirty, then why do you still think the sport is fun to watch?
I know doping is a serious problem in our sport but I also have to draw a line somewhere. For me, that "somewhere" is:
1) an actual positive test or a national doping program like East Germany
or
2) a performance that is out of line with the rest of humanity (like the women's 400, 800, and marathon WRs).
Those two criteria create my "line in the sand" but if I move that line to include "everyone who is good" then there would be nobody left to watch in pro running. Which as you might say, could be the case! Fine. But if so, why are you still on these pro running threads?
p.s. Here, for example is someone who crossed "my line" of having a performance that is out of touch with the rest of the women in history. 400m in 47.60 is not possible for a clean biologically female runner (at least not in that era). Here is the all-time top-4:
I think Hassan suffers from Eliud Kipchoge syndrome where nothing she says makes any sense. Another brilliant runner with a less than brilliant verbal IQ.
I think Hassan suffers from Eliud Kipchoge syndrome where nothing she says makes any sense. Another brilliant runner with a less than brilliant verbal IQ.
I think Hassan suffers from Eliud Kipchoge syndrome where nothing she says makes any sense. Another brilliant runner with a less than brilliant verbal IQ.
