None of us know for sure anything about the drug allegations, although nothing would surprise me. However, I find it more surprising that China isn't more consistently competitive in the major athletic events. I was fortunate enough to visit one of the major Chinese sport universities a couple of years back, and the sheer number of athletes who were active in sport was staggering (and by 'active' I mean training seriously hard, not just 'participating'). The martial arts, boxing, and gymnastics facilities were literally full of students going at it 100% until they dropped, and the work the swimmers were doing was amazing. One of my guides told me she was the Chinese champion in her event and that she trained for two-three hours 13 times per week alongside being a full-time student.
The culture is also very different in that the students / athletes have great respect for authority and do exactly what the coaches ask of them. therefore its not difficult to imagine that an authoritarian coach such as Ma, given access to a large number of athletes, would find at least some able to survive a brutal training regime and consequently achieve amazing performances.
However, one thing I found very interesting in China was that the athletic tracks were the only facilities seemingly underused. Unlike everywhere else there were only a few athletes present who seemed to spend far more time stretching and jogging very slowly around the infield than actually doing any 'proper' training. I don't know where else they could have been doing any training because I imagine the life expectancy of anyone who braves the Beijing traffic to get a few miles in is pretty short!
Report: Chinese 10,000 WR holder Wang Junxia admitted to Chinese doping in 1995
Report Thread
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I don't. I was only 18 when I watched the Olympic Games in Atlanta back in 96 but I remember as if it was yesterday, vibrating for our athlete when she passed and moved to the front on that electric finish to win the 10.000m gold medal against Junxia, when everyone thought Junxia had it.
The discussion is usually centered around the rules and controls IAAF puts in place to fight doping. IAAF can always come up with more sophisticated methods and the athletes will come up again with new ideas how to go around the system. And we will keep on this endless loop with news from time to time that someone got caught.
To me there is missing a core part of the equation: athletes ethics. Something must be very wrong when an athlete has no shame to display the national flag in front of millions in an international event knowing he/she cheated.
If you take that ethics should be at the core of the sport, then whoever is caught cheating through doping should be banned for life and stripped from all results. Because it's not only the fact that you cheated on that specific race against those specific runners. No. It is the fact that you have shown you don't belong to the sport.
I'd be curious to read what other posters think about it. -
I wonder where the records if Athletics Africa was made up of state run/sponsored programs with the goal of being the best?
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aduck2002 wrote:
records only in china, as not going to bag blood like that anywhere else.
like paula in london
get hct > hct posible epo
The beat poetry is cool, but you could communicate more effectively by translating your posts into English. -
hobbespt wrote:
...the athletes will come up again with new ideas how to go around the system....
It is mostly the coaches who figure out the loopholes. -
Wow the 10k WR holder admitted to doping, shocking. Ayana will help to set a new, clean era for T&F.
