August 29, 2004

Today’s Clean Olympians No Match For Yesteryear’s Cheaters

FROM THE ATHENS GAMES comes a conspicuous dearth of world records in track and field events.

Up and down the line, from the 100 meter dash to the discus to the long, triple and high jumps, there have been precious few world records set. Furthermore, the winning times and distances in the Athens Olympics track and field events have rarely been even close to the world records.

Was it Charlie Chan who said, “I smell a rat?” Or maybe it was James Cagney?

Dick Pound, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), not only smelled the rat, but he identified the rat cologne when he said, "Our athletes are getting stronger and our training methods are getting better, but still records aren't being broken. I think the reason is all too obvious. There were a lot of doped-up performances out there."

It is in the strength events, in which muscle-building steroids have the most effect, where the differences are the most pronounced. For example, in the men’s javelin, the world record (323.1 feet) was set in 1996; in Athens the winning hurl was 283.8 feet. In the women’s shot put, the world record (74.3 feet) was set in 1987; in Athens the winning toss was 64.3 feet.

The winning time in the women's 100 meters was nearly half a second slower than Florence Griffith-Joyner's 10.49 seconds, run way back in 1988. The winner of the men’s 1500 meter run at Athens was a long yawn 8 seconds slower than the 1998 record.

Similar results have been the case for forty or so men’s and women’s track and field events at the Athens Olympics. [See chart at bottom of excerpt].

Track and field has had a troubled past, with rampant drug use and blood doping being the norm. Clean athletes were few and far between. The pariah of all programs was the state-sponsored performance-enhancing drug program systematically inflicted upon Clockwork Orange East German athletes.

Communist Athletes of the World! Dope Up!

More recently, the grotesquely musculatured Ben Johnson rocketed past the competition like the Six Million Dollar Man at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

No less than 23 athletes have been tossed out of the Olympics for testing positive for drugs or for avoiding drug tests, including eight in track and field and 10 in weightlifting (another steroid-friendly sport).

Said WADA’s Pound, "I think the number we got (23) is a reflection of more tests and better tests. I also believe our tests kept a lot of people home, too."

Most people believe that man is not a perfect being. Among human foibles is a certain vanity (some call it ego, competitiveness or desire-for-fame) that sometimes compels them to cheat to win.

That’s Free Will for you.

2004 Olympic Winners Versus World Records

Men

(first number is 2004 Olympic winner, second number is world record)

100M: 9.85 ... 9.78 (2002)

200M: 19.79 ... 19.32 (1996)

400M: 44.00 ... 43.18 (1999)

800M: 1:44.45 ... 1:41.11 (1997)

1500M: 3:34.20 ... 3:26.00 (1998)

5000M: 13:14.39 ... 12:37.35 (2004)

10,000M: 27:05.10 ... 26:20.31 (2004)

Steeplechase: 8:05.80 ... 7:55.28 (2001)

400M Hurdles: 47.63 ... 46.78 (1992)

Shot-Put: 69-5 ... 75-10 (1990)

Discus: 229-3 ... 243-0 (1986)

Hammer: 272-11 ... 284-7 (1986)

Javelin: 283-9 ... 323-1 (1996)

Long Jump: 28-2 ... 29-4 (1991)

Triple Jump: 58-4 ... 60-0 (1995)

High Jump: 7-9 ... 8-1 (1993)

Pole Vault: 19-6 ... 20-2 (1994)

Women

(first number is 2004 Olympic winner, second number is world record)

100M: 10.93 ... 10.49 (1988)

200M: 22.05 ... 21.34 (1988)

400M: 49.41 ... 47.60 (1985)

800M: 1:56.28 ... 1:53.28 (1983)

1500M: 3:57.90 ... 3:50..46 (1993)

5000M: 14:45.65 ... 14:24.68 (2004)

10,000M: 30:24.36 ... 29:31.78 (1993)

400M Hurdles: 52.82 ... 52.34 (2003)

Shot-Put: 64-3 ... 74-3 (1987)

Discus: 219-10 ... 252-0 (1988)

Hammer: 246-2 ... 249-7 (1999)

Javelin: 234-8 ... 234-8 (2001)

Long Jump: 23-2 ... 24-8 (1988)

Triple Jump: 50-2 ... 50-10 (1995)

High Jump: 6-9 ... 6-10 (1987)

Pole Vault: 16-1 ... 16-1 (2004)

(this 575 word excerpt—with accompanying commentary—was distilled from a 1409 word article on the front page of the New York Times of 8-29-04)