Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 122, September 2019 | Page 17

very simple way to answer those questions, whether
we are talking about Helalia, Paula, Eluid or any
other athlete: Vigorous drug testing, and complete
openness about the process. For example, Two
Oceans and Comrades champ Gerda Steyn, as well
as other athletes, are very open about when the anti-
doping officials come knocking on their doors. They
take to social media to say something to the effect of,
“Wada woke me up at 6am this morning to test me,
all in the name of clean sport.” This welcoming of the
testers and putting it out there goes a long way to
boosting your reputation as an athlete.
journalists. He has run 12 marathons, winning 11 of
them and setting the World Record in Berlin in 2018,
and the only time he was beaten, it took a World
Record performance to defeat him. He also came very
close to breaking two hours for the marathon distance
in 2017, clocking 2:00:25 in the Nike Sub-2 Project,
and will be attempting to do so again in October. If
Eliud breaks two hours, and I do believe he can, then
people will be asking still more questions.
Freaks or Cheats? Where There’s Smoke...
Usain Bolt’s performances were beyond parallel,
and his charisma brought back some much-needed
excitement and panache to the sport. However, take a
glance at the 10 best athletes behind him in the 100m,
who like him have all clocked 9.80 seconds or faster,
and you’ll see they have all either tested positive for
performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), or at the very
least have been associated with PEDs during their
careers. (See the sidebar below right.) Now for a very important disclaimer: I am in no way,
shape, fashion or form saying that any of the above-
mentioned athletes are guilty of using PEDs. Let’s
be very clear about that. They are all innocent until
proven guilty! However, the saying that where there is
smoke, there is fire, also applies here.
Then there is this comment by former Olympic
champion sprinter Carl Lewis: “When people ask me
about Bolt, I say he could be the greatest athlete of
all time... but for someone to run 10.03 one year and
9.69 the next, if you don’t question that in a sport
that has the reputation it has right now, you’re a fool.
Period.” Now you can take comments made by Carl
Lewis with a pinch of salt, because there is just as
much speculation around his own performances that
he is probably not the person you would want to
quote in this regard, but the point is well made. Bolt
did improve from a 10.03 to a 9.69 within a year. That
is a monumental leap!
There have been no public links to PEDs with Bolt,
but the question has been asked many times: How
can someone who is not in any way associated with
doping beat every single athlete who has been doping
at one time or another, and that by the proverbial
country mile? The exact same question was asked of
Lance Armstrong many times, given that most of the
riders he was consistently beating had been caught
for doping at one time or another.
Similarly, there are many who question Eliud’s record,
including highly respected sports scientists and sport
When Lance literally came back from his deathbed to
go on to win seven consecutive Tour titles, the world
was agog. He raked in sponsorships worth hundreds
of millions of Dollars, he was feted all over the world,
and became an icon and inspiration to people the
world over. And then the bubble burst, primarily due
to the tenaciousness of David Walsh. Had the British
Journalist not stuck to his guns and faced down
lawsuit after lawsuit, the Lance Armstrong myth would
have lived on.
More recently, the 2012 London Olympics have been
exposed as the dirtiest Games ever, after loudly
proclaiming that they were the cleanest. Athens
in 2004 had 41 positives, Beijing in 2008 had 86,
whereas London returned a total of just nine positives
within the first three months after the curtain had
come down. However, after retesting of stored
samples of athletes who won medals in 2012, that
figure has now rocketed to 87 in track and field alone,
and a total of 132 throughout the different sporting
codes. As a result, the women’s 1500m has been
dubbed the dirtiest race in history, as six of the top
nine finishers have now been associated with doping,
either in that event, or during their careers.
This is why every anomaly or standout performance
has to be questioned, because unfortunately, nothing
can just be taken at face value anymore. Sadly, that
means we are going to have to accept that some
athletes we supported, admired, even adored, may
someday be exposed as cheats. (The current anti-
doping laws allow for samples to be kept in storage
up to eight years, and to be repeatedly tested as
science evolves. From 2020, this law will be extended
to a 10-year period.)
However, we need to be clear about this: Superhuman
feats do not automatically equate to cheating and the
use of PEDS. There are genuine athletic ‘freaks’ out
there, who will continue to leave us awestruck with
their performances. Let’s celebrate them, but let’s not
be blind to the fact that all is not always as it seems,
and thus let’s be sure to ask the right questions.
Drugs in the 100m Dash
Of the 11 men in history to run 9.80 or faster, all but Usain Bolt have been banned or linked to an anti-doping
infraction.
9.58 Usain Bolt
9.69 Tyson Gay — banned for one year for steroids in 2013.
9.69 Yohan Blake — banned for three months for a stimulant in 2009.
9.72 Asafa Powell — banned for six months for a stimulant in 2013.
9.74 Justin Gatlin — banned for one year for amphetamines in 2001, for four years for testosterone in 2006.
9.78 Nesta Carter — failed test for a stimulant at 2008 Olympics, banned for three months.
9.78 Tim Montgomery — banned for two years in 2005 for involvement in the BALCO scandal; later admitted
to taking testosterone and HGH.
9.79 Christian Coleman — facing potential 1-2 year ban for three missed tests in 2019.
9.79 Maurice Greene — allegedly paid for steroids in 2003 and 2004, but denied the allegations.
9.79 Ben Johnson — banned for two years for Stanozolol at 1988 Olympics.
9.80 Steve Mullings — banned for two years for testosterone in 2004, banned for life for a masking agent in 2011.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Manfred Seidler is a freelance Olympic sport journalist who has been in the industry
since 1994, in both print media and broadcasting, covering four Olympic Games for SABC Radio, and
producing various athletics shows for the SABC. Follow him on Twitter: @sportmansa;
Facebook: Sport Man SA; Instagram: sportman_sa.
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