douglas burke wrote:
DedicatedRunner wrote:Mary Decker held American records from the 800 through the 10k. No other female American dominated the way she did.
She was no doper when the she accomplished them. That occurred in the late 90's when in her late 30's she was trying to hang on to competing at the highest level.
you dont know that, a friend of my mothers 16 year old son just died on overdose of steroids, because he wanted to look more buff and make his high school football team.
she probably cheated from junior high school, there are thousands of teens using steroids.
You don't really believe that crap do you Doug? Mary was a phenom at 14 - just because some people in the football/bodybuilding culture do it, doesn't mean others do as well. In the same era (1972), Glenda Reiser (a Canadian a few years older) at 17 ran 2.03/4.06. It was an era where some people trained hard, and talented girls ran fast. Glenda never got any better (quit and went to Med school), Mary D struggled with compartment syndrome before developing later.
I have seen talented kids from my neighbourhood become NCAA medalists, National record-holders and Olympic finalists. In my 25 years of coaching I have yet to be convinced that any were doping - not that some people aren't, rather that it isn't necessary for the talented either (I get where Canova is coming from, unlike many on this board). I coached a kid in HS who has recently run 1.45 for 800m (went to worlds), and I told him he was lazy in HS, - just plain talented. Another local kid, who did almost nothing in HS, has gone on to run a 2h10 marathon. There are those people around, some develop and some don't. What pisses me is jealous people who simply don't understand that this is the reality. There are a boat-load of talented people in the US who are either destroyed by the US HS and Collegiate programs (over-trained), or worse - held back by incompetent coaching during HS and even College. look at Wejo, talk about an example of someone who had poor coaching that held him back until JK developed him. If that guy could run 28.06, then lots of others could as well - why they don't is the million dollar question.
This is an era of some very good HS girls in the US - Cain, Baxter, Efraimson, Cranny. Ajee Wilson is still an age-group Junior. Maybe none will become Senior record-holders or medalists at major meets - but I don't assume that any, and certainly not all, have resorted to PED's to get to their current levels. I don't believe that Marion Jones did as a youth either - I believe that she went to the "dark" side later. Mary D may have done the same (AW and Slaney), and sad if she did, as it wasn't necessary - she had the talent to be great without it, certainly until her later years (30's) anyway.