The Olympic Games begin in Rio on August 5 and will run through August 21. During the Olympics, inevitably there will be conversation about performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). The focus on enhancing performance through the use of drugs was magnified in 1976 when the East German female swimmers won 10 gold medals out of 12, six silvers, and one bronze. The previous Olympics, the East German female swimmers had won only four silvers and one bronze. After the Berlin Wall fell, documents were found that showed that the swimmers without their parents’ knowledge had been given a drug regimen since the age of 11 to dramatically improve their performances.
The controversy still remains and may be at an all-time high. Forty-two athletes were stripped of their medals or disqualified from competing in 2012 due to finding banned substances in their systems. This year, 10 nations and 20 athlete groups have requested that the entire Russian delegation be barred from the Summer Olympics because of state- sponsored doping programs. Even Russia’s anti-doping lab director said that the government ordered him to cover up the widespread use of PEDs during the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
On Monday, a report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency was issued and determined that state-sponsored doping of Russian athletes occurred in preparation for the Sochi Olympics. The US and Canada have asked that “no athlete can represent Russia at the Rio Olympic Games.” The Commission is leaving that decision up to the International Olympic Committee.
The United States is not free of guilt here either. It has also had its share of athletes stripped of their medals. Lance Armstrong and Marion Jones are the most famous. Since 1968, 11 US medals have been revoked, second only to Russia. The event that has been disciplined the most with athletes of all countries is Men’s Weightlifting.
So with all the attention that is now focused on PEDs, can we expect the stories coming out of Rio in a few weeks to be about the super-human performances or will they be about how these performances were achieved?
I would like to think when I sit down to watch the competitors that technology has advanced to the point where if you cheat, you will be caught. And those who win gold medals have done so fairly or, if not, those medals will immediately be revoked. If that is the case, it will be the first time since 1968, when the first Olympic doping cheat was found, that medals have gone to all who deserve them.
So when I am cheering “USA! USA!” on the outside, I am hoping “No PEDs! No PEDs” on the inside. Let the Games begin!
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
- The Liberty boys and the Nazareth girls won the basketball Sportsfest titles this past weekend. The winter season looks like it will be very, very competitive with so many strong teams in both boys and girls. Emmaus, Whitehall, Allen, Pocono Mountain West, Parkland, and Bangor look very strong on the boys’ side and an equal number of strong challengers for the girls.
- The British Open final round was one for the ages. Henrik Stensen outdueled Phil Mickelson in a match-play-like finale and shot an amazing 63 with 10 birdies. He had the lowest score ever over 72 holes in a major (264). Mickelson shot 65 and did not bogey a hole. His total of 267 was the fourth best score in major history and he did not win. Colin Montgomery had the same score and did not win in 1995. Stensen won $1.5 million.
- The folk hero of the British Open was Andrew Johnston – “Beef”. The somewhat overweight, heavily-bearded Brit finished eighth and won $224,196. Ranked 104th in the world, it was his look, his demeanor and, more importantly, his play that captured the crowd’s support. His father died when he was 17, and he welled up coming up 18 thinking of him. Let’s hope he continues to play well. He seems to represent the average Joe. By the way, his wedge has nine different types of beef engraved on it – rib-eye, brisket, sirloin, t-bone, tri-tip, flank, filet mignon, porterhouse, and skirt.
- I never did this playing a round of golf, but if I wouldn’t have to pay for a new club, I probably would have:
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/07/furious-golfer-snaps-golf-club-throws-it-in-a-bush-at-british-open
I did play once with a golfer who after a bad shot on hole #18, took each club out of his bag, one by one, and threw them into the nearby woods. Then, he had second thoughts and painstakingly retrieved them.
- When you are a real fan, and a baseball game takes six hours and 18 innings to be completed, your emotions run the gamut. Watch:
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/07/young-pirates-fan-18-inning-game-emotions-nationals-mlb
