Members of Jamaica's athletics team are apparently complaining about the number of doping tests they're being subjected to at the Olympics, to the point where 100m runner Asafa Powell has claimed that the amount of blood being taken in the tests may adversely affect his performance.
It's not that Jamaica's athletes are necessarily any more filthy than the US athletics team when it comes to the presence of drug cheats, but the reason Jamaican athletes are being heavily scrutinised is because Jamaica doesn't have its own anti-doping agency:
Neither the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) nor the Jamaican authorities have been able to confirm to BBC Sport that [the Jamaican Anti-Doping Commission] is actually operating yet. The situation is further muddied by Jamaica's decision to opt out of the Wada-approved Caribbean Regional Anti-Doping Organisation (Rado).
The only organisation currently undertaking widespread testing in Jamaica is the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
The Monaco-based governing body has raised its game in recent years, and now actively targets countries without adequate anti-doping regimes of their own (Jamaica is the IAAF's fifth most tested nation), but question marks remain over the effectiveness and transparency of its operations.
Of course, more testing doesn't mean the cheats are likely to get caught- the BALCO scandal demonstrated that clearly enough. But it's a bit rich of Jamaica's top sprinters to whinge about all the testing when they're from a country renowned for its lassez faire approach to testing for doping in its athletes at a time when they happen to be ruling the roost in the 100m. Maybe they ought to be whinging about how their government's lack of action on the doping front is leading to all the unwanted attention.
3 comments:
Whatever...even if the government had maintained strict testing on our athletes they would still be scrutinized, tested and retested upon arrival in Beijing, considering that the past and previous holder of the title "world's fastest man alive" both represent the same country; JAMAICA. At the end of the day our runners are from a country that widely supports track and field events and they all knew that they would not go to China and leave without the GOLD!!! It's called drive and motivation. In everything, whether in tv, books or movies there is some reference to Jamaica, we attract a lot of attention regardless of who it is and what it is for. I've been to many countries overseas and seen individuals who are neither from Jamaica nor have ever been try to imitate the way we walk, talk or dress, not to mention the impact our music has had on many. We are an intriguing set of people and that's why we get the attention. At the end of the day our athletes were tested and they came back negative. So deal with it!!! Haterzzzzzzzzzzevents and they all knew that they would not go to China and leave without the GOLD!!! It's called drive and motivation. In everything, whether in tv, books or movies there is some reference to Jamaica, we attract a lot of attention regardless of who it is and what it is for. I've been to many countries overseas and seen teens who are neither from Jamaica nor have ever been try to imitate the way we walk, talk or dress. We are an intriguing set of people and that's why we get the attention. At the end of the day our athletes were tested and they came back negative. So deal with it!!! Haterzzzzzzzzzz
Whatever...even if the government had maintained strict testing on our athletes they would still be scrutinized, tested and retested upon arrival in Beijing, considering that the past and previous holder of the title "world's fastest man alive" both represent the same country; JAMAICA. At the end of the day our runners are from a country that widely supports track and field events and they all knew that they would not go to China and leave without the GOLD!!! It's called drive and motivation. In everything, whether in tv, books or movies there is some reference to Jamaica, we attract a lot of attention regardless of who it is and what it is for. I've been to many countries overseas and seen individuals who are neither from Jamaica nor have ever been try to imitate the way we walk, talk or dress, not to mention the impact our music has had on many. We are an intriguing set of people and that's why we get the attention. At the end of the day our athletes were tested and they came back negative. So deal with it!!! Haterzzzzzzzzzz
**I meant past and present holders of the title, my bad!
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