In the Chicago Marathon pre-race presser, Wesley Korir thoughtfully asserts that our over-focus on race times and records is at the core of our doping problem.
While I respect him for his desire to help return the sport to a more authentic time, he's really missing the fundamental issues. I think this is because he's immersed in the world of competitive, professional running. Yes, running fast and winning are motivators for doping. Why?
The reasons people dope are:
1. Money
2. Glory, prestige, recognition, fame, ego-fulfillment.
Get rid of these things in sport, and doping drops to nothing.
And......this will never happen. We will never rid the world of competition and its consequences. What we can do is to make is less desirable to and harder to cheat.
My top three steps for reducing cheating (doping):
1. Lifetime bans and 5 years in prison for first offenses (to include "accidental" doping). No statute of limitations on retesting of stored blood samples.
2. Lie detector tests for screening athletes and coaches
3. Permitting athlete class-action lawsuits against other athletes, coaches, doctors and national governing bodies for defrauding them of lost earning potential. Athletes, their coaches, and oversight bodies need to understand that being caught brings forth cataclysmic consequences for everybody involved. I'd even support legal action by fans against cheating athletes. Paula Radcliffe should have to pay my runner-daughter for the damages she's done to her sense of fairness.
Cc. Wesley Korir