The Olympics are upon us and we in Jamaica know that the first two weeks are really just the preliminary rounds and the actual games begin when track and field starts.
And like every other Olympics, Jamaica has something to seriously cheer about. This year our expectations are even higher, as My Friend P has remarked Jamaica will be winning the Olympics this year!
My love for track and field comes from deep within and being a Jamaican soul means that my passion is constantly fuelled. But the events with positive drug testing and most significantly the Marion Jones revelation certainly threatened my continued support of this sport.
I have just been coming around to following the events again when bang news now comes that a Jamaican athlete on the recently named team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics has tested positive after last months National Trials.
It annoys me first to hear the Jamaican Amateur Athletics Association refuse to name the athlete that has tested positive. What really is the point? If someone has tested positive but you can't give out the name for whatever reason - well be quiet until you can give out the name.
Whoever it is that tested positive should be showed no mercy. I believe that regardless of what the International Amateur Athletics Association wants to say anyone found guilty of taking drugs should not just get a slap on the wrist with a foolish two-year ban. No, they should be banned for life.
Drug cheat
It might seem harsh but the reality is that the damage that is done by a track and field drug cheat can not be undone, ever. It is a profession and people's livelihoods are affected by drug cheats. And with all of the mumbling that we will hear about errors, etc, it is very clear that in the overwhelming instances of positive drug tests discovered the cheats have thought it all through including the possibility of getting caught. Why else would we see Gatlin from the US and Chambers from the UK making attempts to try and participate in their national trials after being banned?
In defence of all the people who persist in running clean, the harshest possible punishment should be meted out, and if the IAAF won't do it then local associations should.
Of course an additional punishment should be bestowed upon anyone who is cheating with performance enhancing drugs and still fail to perform. Seriously, if you are going through the foolishness of cheating and doing potential permanent damage to your body and it doesn't even help, you really ought to be banned from not only participating in the sport but also just watching the sport. So if a man or a woman is drinking horse tonic then he should be running a sub 10 second time or she should be running a sub 10.9 second time right?
Email comments to: myfriendp@hotmail.com
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