With Gay and Powell shocking the world of athletics, how will the sport bounce back?
The world of athletics is certainly not having a golden moment after multiple drug test failings only a year after the sport enjoyed one of its best moments in its history during the London Olympic games.
On Sunday the 14th of July the sport was rattled by the announcement of not one but two drug test failings. The fact that illegal substances had been used in the sport is bad enough but when it was revealed that the athletes who had failed these test were internationally renowned, World and Olympic Champions, Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell of the USA and Jamaica respectively it made the situation seem ten times worse. Gay and Powell are third and fourth in the all time 100m sprinting table and both have been setting the standard for the world of athletics for years. Considering all of this, why would they risk their career's by taking illegal supplements? Did they do it to be able to challenge Usain Bolt or was it, as they have stated, a case of them not being aware of what they were taking?
Gay, who has run the fastest 100 meters in the world this year with a time of 9.75 seconds, has not announced the banned substance which he tested positively for as of yet. Both Gay and Powell have stated that they "are not cheats" and Gay expressed his disappointment with his coaching and nutrition team after he had placed a lot of trust in them to look after him, his health and his career. As Gay points the finger at his team, isn't it not the responsibility of the athlete to make sure that whatever supplements that he is given are legal. It is the athletes body and at the end of the day isn't it their responsibility when it comes to what they put inside of their body. Each athlete is given a list of all band substances at the beginning of the season so there should be no excuses. This is the opinion of 100 meter Olympic champion, Donovan Bailey, who went on to ad that "athletes must know what is on the banned list". The 1997 and 2001 world sprint champion stated that a zero-tolerance attitude should be applied to drugs in the sport - "it could be the new false start rule - it doesn't matter who you are, if you false start out the blocks you're out".
Gay will not only miss out on a chance to sprint for a gold medal in the upcoming World Championships but also his career will be dented if not completely and utterly smashed for the rest of his life. When a sportsman comes back in to the game after being involved in a scandal the support they get is less passionate and is generally much less in numbers than before as people become much less trusting of the athlete. Sponsorship will also be hard to come by because who would want to sponsor a "cheat" and Adidas have already announced that they will be ending their partnership with Tyson Gay.
As well as Asafa Powell an alarming number of Jamaican's have been tested positive for illegal substances. These athletes include Olympic 4x100m relay silver medallist Sherone Simpson, World Champion, Yohan Blake, and London 2012 gold medallist, Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
Powell, who has run an impressive 9.88 seconds this year, tested positive for Oxilofrine which is a substance used to boost fat burning. The 30 year old, multi Olympic Medallist released a statement that attempted to prove his innocence in the situation - "I want to be clear in saying to my family, friends and, most of all, my fans worldwide that I have never knowingly or wilfully taken any supplements or substances that break any rules. I am not now - nor have I ever been - a cheat."
Numerous athletes including British Olympic gold medallist from Athens, Darren Campbell, have expressed their frustration at the lack of proper punishment in the sport - "When are we going to get the life ban? Who does it need to be before you go 'OK, enough's enough'? It's ridiculous,"
With Russia currently having 40 athletes on suspension and with a staggering 5 out of the 10 fastest men in history being tested positive for illegal substances, the athletics world needs to change in order to prevent more high profile names being thrown to the sidelines. Do the athletes and their teams need to be educated on a seasonal basis concerning nutritional supplements or does the sport need to increase its number of yearly unannounced drug tests? Whatever they do they must do it with some immediacy because the sport can not take another shattering hit like the one that it's windows are still violently rattling with and one feels that these windows will be rattling for a very long time to come.
On Sunday the 14th of July the sport was rattled by the announcement of not one but two drug test failings. The fact that illegal substances had been used in the sport is bad enough but when it was revealed that the athletes who had failed these test were internationally renowned, World and Olympic Champions, Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell of the USA and Jamaica respectively it made the situation seem ten times worse. Gay and Powell are third and fourth in the all time 100m sprinting table and both have been setting the standard for the world of athletics for years. Considering all of this, why would they risk their career's by taking illegal supplements? Did they do it to be able to challenge Usain Bolt or was it, as they have stated, a case of them not being aware of what they were taking?
Gay, who has run the fastest 100 meters in the world this year with a time of 9.75 seconds, has not announced the banned substance which he tested positively for as of yet. Both Gay and Powell have stated that they "are not cheats" and Gay expressed his disappointment with his coaching and nutrition team after he had placed a lot of trust in them to look after him, his health and his career. As Gay points the finger at his team, isn't it not the responsibility of the athlete to make sure that whatever supplements that he is given are legal. It is the athletes body and at the end of the day isn't it their responsibility when it comes to what they put inside of their body. Each athlete is given a list of all band substances at the beginning of the season so there should be no excuses. This is the opinion of 100 meter Olympic champion, Donovan Bailey, who went on to ad that "athletes must know what is on the banned list". The 1997 and 2001 world sprint champion stated that a zero-tolerance attitude should be applied to drugs in the sport - "it could be the new false start rule - it doesn't matter who you are, if you false start out the blocks you're out".
Gay will not only miss out on a chance to sprint for a gold medal in the upcoming World Championships but also his career will be dented if not completely and utterly smashed for the rest of his life. When a sportsman comes back in to the game after being involved in a scandal the support they get is less passionate and is generally much less in numbers than before as people become much less trusting of the athlete. Sponsorship will also be hard to come by because who would want to sponsor a "cheat" and Adidas have already announced that they will be ending their partnership with Tyson Gay.
As well as Asafa Powell an alarming number of Jamaican's have been tested positive for illegal substances. These athletes include Olympic 4x100m relay silver medallist Sherone Simpson, World Champion, Yohan Blake, and London 2012 gold medallist, Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
Powell, who has run an impressive 9.88 seconds this year, tested positive for Oxilofrine which is a substance used to boost fat burning. The 30 year old, multi Olympic Medallist released a statement that attempted to prove his innocence in the situation - "I want to be clear in saying to my family, friends and, most of all, my fans worldwide that I have never knowingly or wilfully taken any supplements or substances that break any rules. I am not now - nor have I ever been - a cheat."
Numerous athletes including British Olympic gold medallist from Athens, Darren Campbell, have expressed their frustration at the lack of proper punishment in the sport - "When are we going to get the life ban? Who does it need to be before you go 'OK, enough's enough'? It's ridiculous,"
With Russia currently having 40 athletes on suspension and with a staggering 5 out of the 10 fastest men in history being tested positive for illegal substances, the athletics world needs to change in order to prevent more high profile names being thrown to the sidelines. Do the athletes and their teams need to be educated on a seasonal basis concerning nutritional supplements or does the sport need to increase its number of yearly unannounced drug tests? Whatever they do they must do it with some immediacy because the sport can not take another shattering hit like the one that it's windows are still violently rattling with and one feels that these windows will be rattling for a very long time to come.
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