I still believe in the Olympics. Everyone cheats a little, everyone. It is about accountability, i.e, clear rules, significant risk of getting caught, and huge fines, penalties, and consequences with no elaborate investigations allowing for more corruption. The IOC has the proof. For the Olympics to continue, Russia needs to fined, needs to be banned from this Olympics in Rio and the Winter Olympics. The health of the world's young people (even Russia's) depend on it. The integrity of the Olympics is at issue. I don't want to have to decide whether to watch the Olympics because doping is an issue. If I were the Broadcasters, I'd be concerned. I won't watch with Russia in. It's up to the IOC, not our DOJ. Russia cheating with doping is a violent crime.
Why is doping illegal?
The Olympics need to adjust to a new era. Once a tool to promote unity today it brings only continues allegations and investigations of doping, bribes et al. Once designed as a method to have countries invest in under developed areas, today it's a simply a cash draining machine from those very same communities.
Perhaps it's time to simply build a permanent Olympic venue funded and maintained by all nations so that economic burden or rewards can be shared by all. Further lets do away with medals that cause strife and division and have participants harming themselves for "glory" and simply award all participants & nations unity medals.
Perhaps it's time to simply build a permanent Olympic venue funded and maintained by all nations so that economic burden or rewards can be shared by all. Further lets do away with medals that cause strife and division and have participants harming themselves for "glory" and simply award all participants & nations unity medals.
because of this, I heard they're only handing out Silver and Bronze
1
Silver, bronze, and pewter.
The cynicism expressed here is disheartening, and it seems to be culture-bound. I detect none of it here in Japan, whose athletes have virtually never been found guilty of doping.
People should try to look beyond their own small, sometimes ugly cultural sphere and fight any impulse to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
People should try to look beyond their own small, sometimes ugly cultural sphere and fight any impulse to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
5
No babies in the water. Just detritus.
3
Japan also rarely wins anything due to being physically inferior
1
As in WWII, the judgement was that they could not fly an airplane because their eyesight was inferior to that of caucasians. The Zeroes just flew themselves.
Just guarantee Russia all the gold medals and award them before the games and let the real contest be the one for silver and bronze.
The biggest consumers of drugs be it legal or illegal are US Citizens. Let's name a few: pain killers; heroin; cocaine; marijuana; etc. etc. etc. That being said, the United States of America should take a long look in the mirror!
3
WIt a minute; nothing wrong with pot.
Thanks for remaining on topic, but at least you got to bash the US. There are other places to live, you know, and you're certainly welcome to move.
Why do we have the Olympics at this point? Between doping, the corruption that seems to dog the venue selection process, the huge cost to the host nation, where homes and homeless people are mowed down in the name of progress so the host nation can build enormous stadiums that go unused after the games and bankrupt the local population, not to mention the fact that it's no longer a platform for competition between amateurs, why bother? Brazil is in a serious economic recession. Athletes will be swimming, rowing in sewage. Zika is going to be a big problem. Why are we having the "games?"
12
Systematic, state sponsored doping probably did begin with the Soviets but was perfected by the East Germans and exploited by the Chinese, in many cases to the detriment of their atheletes. Now the heirs of the Soviet program now run Russian sports. Yes we have our share of atheletes in the U.S. who used and use performance enhancing drugs but it isn't mandated by those people who are supposed to be looking out for the atheletes' best interests. The punishment must fit the crime. There should never be another Olympic Games held in Russia. All the Russian medals from Sochi should be stripped. And the Russia team, en masse, should be banned from the Rio games. Putin can and will blame the U.S. but that eventually rang hollow during the Soviet era and totalitarian Russia will crumble in the same way the totalitarian USSR died. And banning the Rusdian may well be the best thing we can do for the Russian people.
6
I hope this includes the men's and women's Jamaican track and field teams!
Best worst graphic ever ! I simply could not imagine HOW a hole in the wall would have worked. Who knew you pass things thru a hole in a wall?
Anyway. As a serious follower of Olympic type sporting endeavors it was clear to me there was doping going on. I didnt have evidence, just knew enough about the chemistry of PED's, and the training protocols involved, and the ways to skirt the testing - to figure out many of our (all nations) elite athletes, and the not-so elite were doping sometime, someplace in their careers. If only for healing and recuperative purposes. Made more obvious when you compare the number of events many of them compete in each year against their injury reports.
There isnt a serious Olympic and/or collegiate training organization out there NOT seeking cutting edge chemical (but much more non-chemical) ways to help their athletes perform at ever increasing levels. Its their job to seek these means out. They are professionals training in this case amateurs which is a huge, multi-faceted industry, with billions swirling around it all. Professional sports and what we like to cloak in the term amateur sports.
At some point we, the fans, the sponsors, the teams, the Leagues, the Committees, etc - anyone taking pleasure or making profit from the sports Biz, need to have adult conversation around what we demand of athletes - then ask them what they want and come to a fair middle place.
We're all complicit in this.
Anyway. As a serious follower of Olympic type sporting endeavors it was clear to me there was doping going on. I didnt have evidence, just knew enough about the chemistry of PED's, and the training protocols involved, and the ways to skirt the testing - to figure out many of our (all nations) elite athletes, and the not-so elite were doping sometime, someplace in their careers. If only for healing and recuperative purposes. Made more obvious when you compare the number of events many of them compete in each year against their injury reports.
There isnt a serious Olympic and/or collegiate training organization out there NOT seeking cutting edge chemical (but much more non-chemical) ways to help their athletes perform at ever increasing levels. Its their job to seek these means out. They are professionals training in this case amateurs which is a huge, multi-faceted industry, with billions swirling around it all. Professional sports and what we like to cloak in the term amateur sports.
At some point we, the fans, the sponsors, the teams, the Leagues, the Committees, etc - anyone taking pleasure or making profit from the sports Biz, need to have adult conversation around what we demand of athletes - then ask them what they want and come to a fair middle place.
We're all complicit in this.
1
One of the fondest memories of my childhood was watching the Olympics, summer and winter, as a family. The pride of watching the American team, the awe of watching the athletes, from any country really, pushing themselves, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
Kind of wonder now how real any of it was. Performance enhancing drugs aren't new, maybe just testing for and awareness of them is.
The disbelief of 'manly' Bruce Jenner winning gold then transitioning to Kaitlyn later in life isnt really so shocking after all (no offense, just an observation).
Our society does it all with drugs.
Kind of wonder now how real any of it was. Performance enhancing drugs aren't new, maybe just testing for and awareness of them is.
The disbelief of 'manly' Bruce Jenner winning gold then transitioning to Kaitlyn later in life isnt really so shocking after all (no offense, just an observation).
Our society does it all with drugs.
2
The Olympics, long a showcase for corrupt regimes aiming to buy respectability, are run by a neo-fascist organizing committee that lives on corruption and TV money. Doping is the least of their problems.
6
The Times graphic depicting the "hole in the wall" at the Sochi anti-doping laboratory certainly adds to the compelling drama of these revelations!
1
"Clean" professional sports, such as the Olympics, are like a "secure", "private" internet, fictions designed to make money and keep some people entrenched in power.
Let's just skip the make believe. Let the freak show folks do their thing and, for those of us who really enjoy sports, let us support truly amateur contests.
A few days ago there was a story about "scientists" trying to create a two-hour marathoner. That was science we should admire, even though Barry Bonds shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame because he used other products of science. Just how do the self-righteous propose that we differentiate legitimate from illegitimate science and medicine, when it comes to competitive sports?
Big Sports, such as M.L.B., Olympics, N.F.L., World Cup, etc.are really just forms of Big Business, with the owners and controlling interests out to sell their products, the workers and general public be damned.
A few days ago there was an article on a Texas high school football stadium costing $63 million. Does anyone actually believe the school boards, administrators, coaches, parents, and athletes of that district will not do anything -- and I mean anything -- they can to win?
If you want "clean sports", you might try a couple things I have done not because I was looking for clean sports but simply because that was my level of ability: coaching a mediocre Little League league team or playing on a B league baseball team. Such doesn't eliminate the idiocy, but it sure minimizes it.
Let's just skip the make believe. Let the freak show folks do their thing and, for those of us who really enjoy sports, let us support truly amateur contests.
A few days ago there was a story about "scientists" trying to create a two-hour marathoner. That was science we should admire, even though Barry Bonds shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame because he used other products of science. Just how do the self-righteous propose that we differentiate legitimate from illegitimate science and medicine, when it comes to competitive sports?
Big Sports, such as M.L.B., Olympics, N.F.L., World Cup, etc.are really just forms of Big Business, with the owners and controlling interests out to sell their products, the workers and general public be damned.
A few days ago there was an article on a Texas high school football stadium costing $63 million. Does anyone actually believe the school boards, administrators, coaches, parents, and athletes of that district will not do anything -- and I mean anything -- they can to win?
If you want "clean sports", you might try a couple things I have done not because I was looking for clean sports but simply because that was my level of ability: coaching a mediocre Little League league team or playing on a B league baseball team. Such doesn't eliminate the idiocy, but it sure minimizes it.
5
Preposterous! Thirty-one athletes doping in eight years. We have certain fictions that allow us to get along in life. This is one of them. What is closer to reality is that 31 athletes *didn't* use PEDs.
6
No, there were 31 athletes found in the 2008 Olympics only. They have not released the 2012 results yet. I suspect that with the Russians running the show, you will be correct about the paucity of non-cheating athletes.
So much cynicism here! While clearly doping presents a huge challenge, the Olympics by and large are still wonderful. Young men and women at the pinnacle of personal achievement competing together in such a wide variety of sports celebrates the best of human endeavor. Assembling the world's best athletes together for peaceful competition every four years demonstrates our amazing variety and the collective human potential for peaceful coexistance. It is truly marvelous, and to discard this important tradition because it is imperfect would be a huge mistake.
That the Olympics are so vital to our society, is exactly why it is necessary to be very serious about making them clean. Our collective human values are being tested. Do we give up and shy away from enforcing what we know is fair and right, or do we form concensus around a universal ideal and take action against forces that disrupt these principles?
It's not easy. There will always be cheaters. This vital institution is being tested. Our human values of fairness and honesty are on display. Quite simply, good vs. bad. We must be victorious in this competition, and we will be, for the good of the Olympics and for the good of the human race.
That the Olympics are so vital to our society, is exactly why it is necessary to be very serious about making them clean. Our collective human values are being tested. Do we give up and shy away from enforcing what we know is fair and right, or do we form concensus around a universal ideal and take action against forces that disrupt these principles?
It's not easy. There will always be cheaters. This vital institution is being tested. Our human values of fairness and honesty are on display. Quite simply, good vs. bad. We must be victorious in this competition, and we will be, for the good of the Olympics and for the good of the human race.
1
No, I'm sorry, too little too late. There's nothing "eonderful" about any of this. It's hopelessly tainted, it can't be fixed, it's done.
4
The Russian government devised a complex system for ensuring all Russian athletes could avoid doping detection. Russia - and all Russian athletes - should be banned from future Olympics. Otherwise, the message is, sure, a country's government can commit wholesale fraud, but, meh, whatever.
6
If the Russions had physical access to the bottles, perhaps they simply manufactured duplicate (counterfeit) bottles with the same IDs, in order to swap them. After studying hundreds of bottles, they could perfect their counterfeit bottles.
1
The Olympics are merely the big dog of the sports world, a mega-business with lying, cheating, bribery, incompetence, bailouts, and all.
I feel very sorry for many of the athletes, but it has been a long time since the Olympics were more than a business and political football, such going back to at least 1968, when the Mexican government massacred a couple hundred students in preparation for a "clean" venue, and American athletes were stripped of their medals for raising a fist during award ceremonies.
I feel very sorry for many of the athletes, but it has been a long time since the Olympics were more than a business and political football, such going back to at least 1968, when the Mexican government massacred a couple hundred students in preparation for a "clean" venue, and American athletes were stripped of their medals for raising a fist during award ceremonies.
6
I just don't see why this is a big deal. Let them use whatever they want.
Are you also for decriminalizing all drugs?
Agreed. WADA's entire existence is a joke at this point.
Well it is a big deal. If competitors were allowed legally to use whatever drug enhancers their team pharmacologists could dream up, compitition would no longer be based on athletic skill and training. Instead it would degenerate into an arms race among countries of who could afford and devise the best drugs to give their dope monkeys the edge. The situation would be similar but much worse than the doping and testing schemes organized by Lance Armstrong. Then the Olympics could do a name change, International Dopers Competition. What a Bomb!
6
I ran track and raced bicycles. For the athlete, the exhilaration of doing is almost all that is needed to go back and do it again. But because we are humans, we want to see who is fastest, strongest, etc. So we time, measure, weigh, etc. the events. Some of the athletes started making money after a gold medal, advertising's ugly veil crept over the events.
If I had gotten a chance to go, it would have been the US boycotted year, so it wouldn't have happened anyway, but I would have been so proud to simply represent my country. I wasn't really even close to qualifying, though I was good enough to be asked to try. I would have liked to have had that opportunity to represent the USA.
I do believe there are may like me, that want to represent their country, to compete, to see how they can do against the very best alive right now. However, it's been tainted forever with the PEDs and Professionals. In the late 60s and 70s, years I remember fondly, we had some great athletes competing. Get the Jim Ryun Story from the library and see what it was like. I remember that so well, Ryun, Prefontaine, Snell, Waddell, Keino, to name just a few.
Today it seems such a mess, so commercial, so corrupt.
If I had gotten a chance to go, it would have been the US boycotted year, so it wouldn't have happened anyway, but I would have been so proud to simply represent my country. I wasn't really even close to qualifying, though I was good enough to be asked to try. I would have liked to have had that opportunity to represent the USA.
I do believe there are may like me, that want to represent their country, to compete, to see how they can do against the very best alive right now. However, it's been tainted forever with the PEDs and Professionals. In the late 60s and 70s, years I remember fondly, we had some great athletes competing. Get the Jim Ryun Story from the library and see what it was like. I remember that so well, Ryun, Prefontaine, Snell, Waddell, Keino, to name just a few.
Today it seems such a mess, so commercial, so corrupt.
6
The IOC has far larger issues they should be concerned with, such as having Brazil host the 2016 Summer games. From a corrupt and rotten government to serious health risks to all and any attending the games, this is a catastrophe in the making.
4
Cancel the Rio olympics. We need to stop the worldwide spread of Zika and birth of babies with damaged brains in small heads. But also To stop the lavish waste of money on all the wrong things associated with these events.
Let's have one site permanent site for the summer olympics in Greece with
Proportional contribution to cost and sharing of any profits. And Winter Olympics in Scandinavia -- ditto on cost and profit sharing
How to stop performance enhancement cheating? You probably can't. So, allow it. Full blown and out in the open. In two cycles there will be no point to taking drugs and we can return to physical and psychological training.
Let's have one site permanent site for the summer olympics in Greece with
Proportional contribution to cost and sharing of any profits. And Winter Olympics in Scandinavia -- ditto on cost and profit sharing
How to stop performance enhancement cheating? You probably can't. So, allow it. Full blown and out in the open. In two cycles there will be no point to taking drugs and we can return to physical and psychological training.
2
EASY SOLUTION: before outlining my solution to the problem of catching cheaters, I want to complement the IOC for running the dumbest anti-doping security program imaginable.
The number of incompetent things they did were numerous….too numerous to list here. One thing only: for a couple thousand dollars they could've had security guards at the storage site round the clock; but they didn't. Was somebody bribed to be so stupid?
Back to a solution to doping. The IOC could enact a rule that anybody caught doping will be barred from olympic competition for life. BUT if an athlete confesses to doping before being caught, he will be barred only from the next Olympic event. How many athletes, especially the younger ones, will decide not to take the chance? I don't know. But some will decide not to take the chance. More important, knowing that such a rule is in effect, there's a good chance that far fewer athletes will even take the chance of doping in the first place.
The number of incompetent things they did were numerous….too numerous to list here. One thing only: for a couple thousand dollars they could've had security guards at the storage site round the clock; but they didn't. Was somebody bribed to be so stupid?
Back to a solution to doping. The IOC could enact a rule that anybody caught doping will be barred from olympic competition for life. BUT if an athlete confesses to doping before being caught, he will be barred only from the next Olympic event. How many athletes, especially the younger ones, will decide not to take the chance? I don't know. But some will decide not to take the chance. More important, knowing that such a rule is in effect, there's a good chance that far fewer athletes will even take the chance of doping in the first place.
3
Of course people were bribed. It's Russia. And don't be too sure that you would not have been tempted. What if they had offered you 100000? Or your daughters life?
1
If the Russians can remove the tops of those bottles without notice, they can remove Dr. Rodchenkov without notice.
6
Hold it. They're saying that elite level athletes are using PED's? Shocking.
2
The Olympic committee should just allow the athletes to do whatever they want to improve their performance. That would make for great viewing. I'd love to see a 3 minute mile, or a 2 hour marathon winner.
1
I am astounded by the comments on this article. Truly, some are so far from within the realm of reality that I'm bowled over.
The Olympics are not going to be cancelled forthwith - not only is there too much money involved, but it is the pinnacle of amateur athletic competition. Many people's livelihoods are built upon the work they do to get to the Olympics. Coaches, trainers, athletes, gym owners, there are hundreds of people behind each and every athlete who make a living sending talented people to the world's biggest stage. Furthermore, there are billions of people around the world who watch the Olympics, follow its athletes, track its medals, and enjoy spectating the global games.
Clamping down on doping is within the realm of possibility. Stemming corruption is within the realm of possibility. Canceling the Olympics (and using the funds for civic duties) is not. Visa and McDonald's are not in the business of helping cure global poverty, and if it were as easy as throwing $25 billion at the problem, it would have been fixed long ago. It isn't an either-or situation.
The Olympics are not going to be cancelled forthwith - not only is there too much money involved, but it is the pinnacle of amateur athletic competition. Many people's livelihoods are built upon the work they do to get to the Olympics. Coaches, trainers, athletes, gym owners, there are hundreds of people behind each and every athlete who make a living sending talented people to the world's biggest stage. Furthermore, there are billions of people around the world who watch the Olympics, follow its athletes, track its medals, and enjoy spectating the global games.
Clamping down on doping is within the realm of possibility. Stemming corruption is within the realm of possibility. Canceling the Olympics (and using the funds for civic duties) is not. Visa and McDonald's are not in the business of helping cure global poverty, and if it were as easy as throwing $25 billion at the problem, it would have been fixed long ago. It isn't an either-or situation.
5
The Olympics have long since ceased being "the pinnacle of amateur athletic competition." Virtually everyone is a professional in one sense of the word or another. Paid to train, paid to play their sport (see Basketball) sponsored, see swimming.
But I agree, it won't be cancelled. NBC and Bob "I think I know everything" Costas need to be on the air with it.
But I agree, it won't be cancelled. NBC and Bob "I think I know everything" Costas need to be on the air with it.
8
I guess you're not keeping up with current events. The water that many will compete in is likened to an open sewer. Crime against spectators very a real threat. And the very real possibility of accelerating the world wide spread of Zika are 3 very good reasons to cancel or move the olympics.
6
You're correct - most of the athletes are not purebred amateurs. But they devote too much time to their sport to go without any form of compensation. But there are still athletes who compete who are full-time students, or have jobs outside of their sport, so in my mind, it still qualifies loosely.
The real culprit is television, because the networks have turned the Olympics into television entertainment, rather than a sports event. The number of sports has mushroomed, because in order to pull in the younger viewers that TV advertisers crave, they have added "youth oriented sports" as well simply more sports. In order to attract those not interested in sports, they have added these mega-opening and closing extravaganzas, which of course have nothing to do with sports. The huge number of viewers have, by their very presence, encouraged more and more nationalism and politics in the games. And, again for more TV viewership, they have opened many Olympic events to professionals, such as basketball, soccer, tennis, and this year, golf. All of this merely makes doping more likely, since with all the publicity, an Olympic Gold Medal equates to money in the bank. The solution is to shrink the games, and reduce the television coverage, as odd as that may sound.
11
Pete - totally agree with your recommendations. And the charade of tape-delaying the coverage so the people back home can see it all in prime time is extremely counterproductive and anti-climatic. It forces the networks to over-dramatize the background stories and all the other hoopla since the results are already known via the internet.
4
The X Games are the new format. Younger competitors, mostly professionals, evolving sports, sponsorship from head to toe. Ruling is quite subjective, and who cares which strain is in use.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_27368610/legal-marijuana-is-out-play-a...
http://www.letsrun.com/news/2016/02/espn-embarrasses-refuses-drug-testin...
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_27368610/legal-marijuana-is-out-play-a...
http://www.letsrun.com/news/2016/02/espn-embarrasses-refuses-drug-testin...
There is an easy way to beat dopping: have the athletes urinate every day in a vial provided to them by teams of top officials, maybe rotating teams, without prior notice, keeping visual contact with the targeted athletes until they are ready to pass urine in a place designated by the officials the last moment. If positive, out for life, preventing him to participate even in professional events. Of course such an approach will cost money and less money will be poured in by advertisers.
1
Why waste time with any of this?
Sports is not religion, just more TV entertainment.
All that matters is a good show & plangent story for the audience.
Would anyone investigate Tom Cruise if it turned out he did do all his own stunts on the last Mission Impossible flick?
Sports is not religion, just more TV entertainment.
All that matters is a good show & plangent story for the audience.
Would anyone investigate Tom Cruise if it turned out he did do all his own stunts on the last Mission Impossible flick?
1
Why are we investigating Russian doping? Is this our problem? When did the Olympic committee die and make us god?
4
we're just PUTIN' the Russians in their place. It is all politics, all the time.
I may have to re-read the article to be sure - but I'm pretty certain the article explicitly stated numerous times that this problem is being investigated by the International Olympic Committee... I don't believe I saw any reference or allusion whatsoever to this being our problem; although, it probably will be somewhat of a problem for us as we can be sure plenty of doping is going on with American athletes, as well.
By this point, we've all seen the incredible lengths gone to by doping athletes and the vast multitudes of enablers, apparently up to and including the intelligence services of some countries, makes it pretty clear that there shouldn't be any reasonable expectation of "clean" athletics - amateur or professional, Olympic or not - anytime in the near future. Ten years ago, when everyone was still worshipping Lance Armstrong, I never would have imagined these people getting multiple blood transfusions and whatnot to conceal this stuff. Nor would it have occurred to me that doping is occurring in virtually every sport out there. I wouldn't at all be surprised to hear even the solo synchronized swimmers and race-walkers are partaking.
By this point, we've all seen the incredible lengths gone to by doping athletes and the vast multitudes of enablers, apparently up to and including the intelligence services of some countries, makes it pretty clear that there shouldn't be any reasonable expectation of "clean" athletics - amateur or professional, Olympic or not - anytime in the near future. Ten years ago, when everyone was still worshipping Lance Armstrong, I never would have imagined these people getting multiple blood transfusions and whatnot to conceal this stuff. Nor would it have occurred to me that doping is occurring in virtually every sport out there. I wouldn't at all be surprised to hear even the solo synchronized swimmers and race-walkers are partaking.
Is this possible: either many people don't care to score an honest win, or there's rationalizing going on, such as, "these drugs can't give me what I don't have already, they just make it fully available," or " 'everyone else' is doing it, so we have to also in order to get anywhere in the competition," etc.
Consider:
It may be time to just shut the Olympics down.
[And the public threat of the Zika virus this year is the perfect opportunity.]
Like obsession with corrupted professional sports, let's instead focus on and engender sports and activity for all—"sports for the participant" instead of the stadium—sports for the health and joy of movement and camaraderie.
It may be time to just shut the Olympics down.
[And the public threat of the Zika virus this year is the perfect opportunity.]
Like obsession with corrupted professional sports, let's instead focus on and engender sports and activity for all—"sports for the participant" instead of the stadium—sports for the health and joy of movement and camaraderie.
17
"Sports for the participant instead of the stadium? Sports for the health and joy of movement and camaraderie"? Ha ha. What a utopianistic idea you've got there. You don't truly believe what you said is possible, likely, or even remotely realistic do you? It just sounds so... I don't know... Bernie Sanders comes to mind for some reason.
Perhaps they shouldn't be called the Olympics but rather the Pharmolympics. Then we would award medals on the basis of each countries ability to create the best artificial human beings.
14
As usual its all about the money and the "political" mileage that can be gained. Its state sponsored cheating for political gain (see how many medals we have...see...our system is better than theirs!)
People should not watch anymore AND they should not watch until national flags and ceremonies involving countries are stopped.
Its supposed to be about the athletes, whether singly or in team sports. Not about waiving the flag. If Joe Doakes turns out to be the fastest runner in the mile at that Olympics, then honor Joe Doakes. Why must there be national anthems and flag waiving.
Oh I forgot! No national anthems or flag waiving and all the money that fund the training programs will dry up. And so might the doping!
Ya' see what's important here is not that Joe Doakes won, but rather the graphic that's shown every ten minutes of the MEDAL COUNT BY COUNTRY. The country with the most gold MUST be the best country in every imaginable way, right?
People should not watch anymore AND they should not watch until national flags and ceremonies involving countries are stopped.
Its supposed to be about the athletes, whether singly or in team sports. Not about waiving the flag. If Joe Doakes turns out to be the fastest runner in the mile at that Olympics, then honor Joe Doakes. Why must there be national anthems and flag waiving.
Oh I forgot! No national anthems or flag waiving and all the money that fund the training programs will dry up. And so might the doping!
Ya' see what's important here is not that Joe Doakes won, but rather the graphic that's shown every ten minutes of the MEDAL COUNT BY COUNTRY. The country with the most gold MUST be the best country in every imaginable way, right?
5
Look at the IOC. Yes look who they are. Olympics are a representation of our society, a bunch of highly perched individuals in the social rank using cheap labor to fulfill their financial ambitions. We call this nobility!
So why the outrage? There you have it all in one capsule, the peons trying to climb the ladder offered by the tenants of the castle. Wish to cancel, boycott, not watching... better work on a new world order.
So why the outrage? There you have it all in one capsule, the peons trying to climb the ladder offered by the tenants of the castle. Wish to cancel, boycott, not watching... better work on a new world order.
1
Cheap labor? You must not follow many sports. The ones that actually fill Olympic stadiums are generally millionaires vs millionaires+.
Ribbon Gymnasts and similar contrived sports probably don't earn much.
Ribbon Gymnasts and similar contrived sports probably don't earn much.
I agree that many of these athletes are not cheap, making good money. They are nonetheless pawns in this political game using certain skills to attain some celebrity status.
Whoever believes we will one day see an end to cheating in sports, raise your hand...
I didn't think so.
Human nature being what it is, people will continue to cheat at every level, including when there's not much more at stake than looking good in front of your friends. Of course, humongous endorsement deals make winning at any cost very seductive at the top strata of professional sports.
But I'm thinking of the small town folks who cheat in marathons and keep on denying they've been cheating even after they get caught.
There was even cheating in synchronized swimming in the Olympics a while ago. In that case, the judges were cheating!
Then there's the corrupt Olympic committee itself.
There is no antidote other than permanent, zero tolerance: in addition to purse-imploding fines, it should be one strike and you're out -- forever. No second chances. Do we have the guts to do it? Whoever thinks we do, raise your hand...
I didn't think so.
Human nature being what it is, people will continue to cheat at every level, including when there's not much more at stake than looking good in front of your friends. Of course, humongous endorsement deals make winning at any cost very seductive at the top strata of professional sports.
But I'm thinking of the small town folks who cheat in marathons and keep on denying they've been cheating even after they get caught.
There was even cheating in synchronized swimming in the Olympics a while ago. In that case, the judges were cheating!
Then there's the corrupt Olympic committee itself.
There is no antidote other than permanent, zero tolerance: in addition to purse-imploding fines, it should be one strike and you're out -- forever. No second chances. Do we have the guts to do it? Whoever thinks we do, raise your hand...
13
Humans are a mistake of evolution as time will prove correct.
1
Regardin the U.S. the IOC needs to investigate the possible illegality that went on with the awarding to Eugene Or. the 2021 World Track and Field Championships, along with the awarding of the upcoming 2016 Olympic Trials also to be held at Eugene,Oregon. His holiness- Phil Knight should be thoroughly investingated, along with many local and state political and business leaders. I read that Sebastian Coe President of the IAAF is also being investigated for shady dealings. Pro sports is crooked, no question about it. People all over have their greedy little hands out looking for some quick cash in the pocket. From Albania to the U.S. We need more whistle blowers and authorites that are willing to prosecute these crooks, unless of course, they too are on the take.
2
If the FSB can allegedly crack open the tamper proof bottles who says other cloak and dagger types (current or retired) would be incapable of doing the same?
There needs to be a simple system:
1. Dirty sample
2. Ruling
3. Single appeal
4. Reinstatement or lifetime ban if sample(s) are dirty again
That's the only "real" penalty that is going to make this chicanery stop.
There needs to be a simple system:
1. Dirty sample
2. Ruling
3. Single appeal
4. Reinstatement or lifetime ban if sample(s) are dirty again
That's the only "real" penalty that is going to make this chicanery stop.
4
Sigh.....I really don't care anymore. I've was always a big Olympic supporter. My cousin was on the 1980 team when the boycott occurred. But even after that I was an Olympic supporter. During the 1996 Olympics I went every day. But now the totally inept IOC have destroyed the Olympic sprit. And I really don't care anymore.
Doug
Doug
12
If only this much effort could be put towards stopping something truly evil or solving a real world problem, instead of who wins a medal in the olympics.
4
Cheating is nothing new. The ancient Greek playwright, Sophocles said it best a mere 2,400 years ago: "I would prefer even to fail with honor than win by cheating."
This principle really hasn't changed in over 2,000 years. Those who cheat dishonor themselves and their endeavors.
For me and I am certain many others, the Olympics lost its allure decades ago when it became clear that much of what I was observing were chemically-altered human beings breaking the records of their merely human predecessors.
Even other sports, including baseball, lost its luster. Does any real baseball fan believe that Barry Bonds legitimately holds the major league record for career home runs and home runs in a season? Give me the Babe and Hammerin' Hank any day.
Still, all of that is subordinate to the shame the community should justifiably drape around the necks of those who have cheated not only their competitors and the public, but themselves from the satisfaction of losing with honor.
This principle really hasn't changed in over 2,000 years. Those who cheat dishonor themselves and their endeavors.
For me and I am certain many others, the Olympics lost its allure decades ago when it became clear that much of what I was observing were chemically-altered human beings breaking the records of their merely human predecessors.
Even other sports, including baseball, lost its luster. Does any real baseball fan believe that Barry Bonds legitimately holds the major league record for career home runs and home runs in a season? Give me the Babe and Hammerin' Hank any day.
Still, all of that is subordinate to the shame the community should justifiably drape around the necks of those who have cheated not only their competitors and the public, but themselves from the satisfaction of losing with honor.
11
Didn't Greek athletes then treat themselves to special drinks and herbs just before the Olympics because they thought the supplements would help them?
Greed, nationalism, and third world poverty will drive athletes to cheat. As long as there are such huge rewards and so few punishments, with large windows of getting away with it, there will be widespread cheating as the governing bodies are also bought off!
Instead of exploiting athletes except for the few who win, exploiting host cities who hold olympics, and using nationalism as an axe over other countries.
Let us give lifetime bans for first offenses, shared penalties to the team and country for systematic doping, but also provide a lion share of the money that is accumulated to athletes, families and to poor people to develop athletic healthy opportunities in their own cities towns and rural areas.
Instead of exploiting athletes except for the few who win, exploiting host cities who hold olympics, and using nationalism as an axe over other countries.
Let us give lifetime bans for first offenses, shared penalties to the team and country for systematic doping, but also provide a lion share of the money that is accumulated to athletes, families and to poor people to develop athletic healthy opportunities in their own cities towns and rural areas.
3
There are American sprinters who have been caught taking drugs in the past who could be competing in Rio. There need to be real punishments if the sport is to be cleaned-up.
4
The IAAF and IOC have focused on 31 athletes because they aren't going to bar Russia from Rio, even in the face of overwhelming evidence of systematic doping. Instead, clean athletes will again compete on an un-level playing field, because athletes have no power or say in the process. The IAAF also has a responsibility to quickly respond to a ruling by the Court of Arbitration in Sport, which allows hyper-androgenic athletes with internal testes to compete as women. But the IAAF will not respond in time for Rio, so watch this summer as Caster Semenya destroys and dominates in the women's 800 meter run. The Olympic movement has corrupted and contaminated sport. It likes to cite Berlin in 1936 as a triumph of its ideals, but today it peddles a corporate and nationalist spectacle that legitimizes despots and totalitarians. Why have obviously doped world records by the Chinese and E. Germans been kept on the books for decades? Because a corrupt and plutocratic IAAF is more concerned with geopolitics and profit than a clean sport. Russia will be in Rio.
9
"He described an overnight operation in which he and a small team had substituted Russian athletes’ tainted urine for clean urine, stockpiled in the months leading up to competition and passed surreptitiously through a hole in the wall of the lab building." Wouldn't this be the other way around? or "with" instead of "for"?
1
The Olympics are an amazing spectacle. The cheating has probably always occurred, in one form or another. Just keep trying to do the right thing and enjoy the successes. Is there any uncorrupted activity in our flawed world? Has there ever been?
3
How would cheating have occurred in Olympic events, and at anything like this scale, "in one form or another", before performance-enhancing drugs existed?
5
So, now we're reviewing blood samples and test results from Olympians of the past 8 years. This does not bode well for the next eight (or who knows how many?) years of Olympic "competition". I know the Chinese have been seriously researching (and most likely accomplishing) the process of genetically manipulating embryos for improved physical abilities since at least 2000. We are moving into a new phase of "cheating", that, so far, is "untestable".
The Olympics seems to be moving past any real relevance as an example of pure athletic competition, and more into the realm of cutting edge scientific manipulation of the human body and its performance potentials using drugs and other means.
Time to stop. Zika and the horrible pollution of Brazils waters should be enough to stop anyone from putting our athletes at risk. The I.O.C. has proven itself incapable of making logical, correct (and compassionate) decisions.
Time to retire the Olympics from the world stage.
The Olympics seems to be moving past any real relevance as an example of pure athletic competition, and more into the realm of cutting edge scientific manipulation of the human body and its performance potentials using drugs and other means.
Time to stop. Zika and the horrible pollution of Brazils waters should be enough to stop anyone from putting our athletes at risk. The I.O.C. has proven itself incapable of making logical, correct (and compassionate) decisions.
Time to retire the Olympics from the world stage.
14
Correction: urine, not blood.
I sure hope Dr. Rodchenkov has good security. I am sure the Kremlin will send the same people after him, who took care of Berezovsky, Nemtsov and others. Putin does not tolerate calling into question the integrity of the Russian state or its motives.
23
I agree, he needs to be in the witness protection program. He is highly likely to conveniently drop dead from a "heart attack" right before this upcoming effort to verify his story. I don't understand how he could not be protected. I don't think even having police around is enough, he needs to be in a location they can't find him.
5
The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will have an infrastructure and overall cost exceeding $25 billion...that's not even counting the additional money spent in sponsorships, advertising etc. That includes 1.3 billion dollars in U.S. federal funding (which I think is outrageous, given our national debt and all of our more pressing problems to address).
The Olympics and the World Cup are now economic engines rather than the international sports competition they were meant to be. Now the widespread cheating has ruined the games. Think of all the good that money could do in the world. On things which would matter...
Sadly, I think the Olympics should be discontinued. Corruption and cheating are so entrenched that there's no way to stop it.
The Olympics and the World Cup are now economic engines rather than the international sports competition they were meant to be. Now the widespread cheating has ruined the games. Think of all the good that money could do in the world. On things which would matter...
Sadly, I think the Olympics should be discontinued. Corruption and cheating are so entrenched that there's no way to stop it.
37
Manahattan and London used to be habitable for the middle class, now they are "Economic engines". We have ourselves to blame for being complacent and greedy. Capitalism- a method by which one preson(s) removes money from another person's pocket and puts it in their own.
3
Lou Andrews, what you just defined would more properly be called "wealth distribution", or something to that effect. Although I'm sure that particular brand of "wit" is pretty popular in Portland. I guess I should ask myself why should I be surprised to see someone manage to defer to bashing capitalism - the very engine by which a "middle class" was even created in the first place - while reading comments on the Olympics and doping?
This is what the Olympics have turned into? The athlete with the best undetectable drug cocktail wins? Or, at least medals? It is no longer an athletic competition rather, a biochemical competition. I hope others join me when I say, "good-by. Winning at all costs has just cost you my participation". Good luck selling the airing rights. No one will be watching. The Tour de France, The Olympics, "professional" boxing, baseball dopers, football dopers, all tainted.
The irony is they are watched by a population where 60% of adults are clinically obese, 43 million are diabetics, millions more are hooked on opioids, rather than activity. This is a sad statement of this country.
The irony is they are watched by a population where 60% of adults are clinically obese, 43 million are diabetics, millions more are hooked on opioids, rather than activity. This is a sad statement of this country.
12
It looks as if the Olympics have become another victim of the commercialization cancer that eats out the heart of any activity that is taken over by TV moguls and made into an ersatz version of the cold war complete with doping intrigues and nationally supported competitors. The spirit of free enterprise has obviously inflated competition to dog-eat-dog levels undreamed of in the good old days of honest physical achievements.
10
It's not just the Olympics, and it's not just Russia -- this applies to most any high-performing athlete, in most any sport, in most any country. The lens of the Olympics brings focus to the point, but let's not confuse this lens for blinders -- no sport is "clean" and the money at stake, through salary or state-sponsored bonus or endorsement (yes, Olympic athletes receive compensation), is a huge temptation. The World Anti-Doping Agency has banned several dozen substances; the NFL tests for 20 of them, once a year.
Do the math = you'd be tempted, too.
Do the math = you'd be tempted, too.
3
As a spectator, I'm only surprised when someone doesn't cheat. Compounding this was the decision to stagger the winter and summer Olympic games, so that we are overexposed to the Olympic flame and music every two years. This has rendered them not so special relative to the other competitions.
8
With the advent of the Sports Industrial Complex with the sponsors and endorsement industry we have propelled the feel good sports into a winner take all at any expense efforts. Whether it is cheating in a professional triathlon, or the Tour De France, the hope of getting away with cheating in order to secure the ultimate victory; the pay check, has polluted the minds of the competition! How pathetic!!! So much brain twisted hubris! I guess Lance, who cheated for years, and fell from grace is not enough of a scare? Pete Rose is still selling autographs and making $50.00 per to pay his mortgage!
7
Maybe it's time for the Olympics to go away for another few thousand years. The original intent of honorable competition among amateur athletes seems to have disappeared over the course of my lifetime. I remember watching in rapt attention the achievements of great competitors like Olga Korbut, Mark Spitz, and yes, Bruce Jenner, doing what others had never done before. Now it feels like one big, corrupt, scam being auctioned off to the highest briber.
10
Actually bribery was very common in the original Olympic games in the early Greek period BC.
2
Prison for cheaters. Special competitions for druggies.
Looks to me like if you are an honest athlete, you're a chump.
9
Well! Depriving an athlete the opportunity to get Zika virus, any number of other diseases from contaminated water, or inured as a result of shoddy construction would be downright rude. Seriously, even without doping scandals, there is no longer any ideal remaining in the Olympic ideal. We should pull out.
22
What's better? To win by showing off your medal or by winning and saying that you did it competitively and fairly? Apparently we know the answer for the cheaters.
2
How to solve the problem, easily: Cancel the Olympics, permanently.
38
What about all the other sports?
2
This seems no different from the issue of "bath salts" or so-called synthetic marijuana, wherein the chemists stay a step ahead of federal laws, continually tweaking the formula to fool the testers. What can you do? I suppose aggressive enforcement and stiff punishments are really the only options.
Either the athlete is honorable or not and personal character is not the sort of thing you can legislate. Maybe stop caring about records and medal counts. Lose the flags and anthems. Provide more assistance with training and travel costs so athletes are less compelled to do "whatever it takes" just to get noticed and earn enough from endorsements to pay for a coach and gym. Increase the number of events and add more quirky sports, more open and democratic, so fans can focus more on the games and competition and national leaders aren't so apt to treat it like a war game.
Either the athlete is honorable or not and personal character is not the sort of thing you can legislate. Maybe stop caring about records and medal counts. Lose the flags and anthems. Provide more assistance with training and travel costs so athletes are less compelled to do "whatever it takes" just to get noticed and earn enough from endorsements to pay for a coach and gym. Increase the number of events and add more quirky sports, more open and democratic, so fans can focus more on the games and competition and national leaders aren't so apt to treat it like a war game.
20
I am beyond caring. As I have understood most of my life, sport was excelling within a game made up on specific inviolable rules. Now excellence extends to successful cheating. It's no longer a sport. It's an entertainment masquerading as a sport. And what are the widespread effects of cheating? My eight-year-old nephew cheats at everything...card games, board games, pick-up games...and when I have made the mistake (which I no longer do) of pointing out that this is really not okay, the child goes into a sulk and the adults ask what's the big deal, "It's only a game. All the kids do it" It's an old-fashioned notion, the idea of honor, an idea that seems downright quaint. The win-at-any-cost attitude has poisoned just about everything that used to be a pretty honest contest.
40
Your nephew is one person, in one family (apparently a family that approves of cheating). Although I agree that cheating may be more widespread than it was a few decades ago, it is surely not so blithely shrugged off in many environments. And we really can't afford to "throw in the towel" on this issue. Cynical detachment is not the answer. I have a dear friend who grew up in a country where government corruption is simply assumed as an uninteresting fact of life. What she noticed living in the US was that, although corruption occurs, it is at least something that people care about, worry about, fight against, and sometimes punish, which keeps it from becoming the absolute norm. It's a crucial difference.
1
Given the tampering of “tamper-proof” containers, how can anyone reliably ensure the containers being retested haven’t been tampered?
6
The IOC seems to care more about the appearance of the doping issue than it does about the health of the athletes given the Zika, Dengue, etc risks.
18
The time of the Olympics has past. There is too much corruption and too much money spent. Who can still believe that it is a fair competition?
34
With Russian officials in typical denial mode there is not even the semblance of outrage, which usually accompany these kinds of revelations. And even if Russia could somehow magically clean up their ingrained and pervasive system of state-sponsored corruption in time for this summer’s Olympics, why should they be let off the hook for what they did in Sochi?
Aside from stripping all those athletes from their metals, these ill-gotten gains should also have penalties attached and repercussions for the state as a whole. These are crimes in that they have deprived many athletes of their rightful win, along with the accompanying fame and exposure that comes with that. We know that in today’s sports world metals and victories easily translate into sponsorship, as well as other professional benefits. At this point it would be impossible to rewind the clock for the people who have lost out due to this corruption.
To me it seems the only thing that might bring about change in Russia is a strong response and banning of them from all games until there are tight international over sites put in place.
Just wait, Putin trolls are ready with their smoke and mirror propaganda arguments, claiming false equivalences, “Everyone else is doing it, so why point a finger at us.” That argument reveals a total lack of morals. Their only criterion for their behavior is whether or not someone else in the world is doing the same thing. It is the argument of a five year old.
Aside from stripping all those athletes from their metals, these ill-gotten gains should also have penalties attached and repercussions for the state as a whole. These are crimes in that they have deprived many athletes of their rightful win, along with the accompanying fame and exposure that comes with that. We know that in today’s sports world metals and victories easily translate into sponsorship, as well as other professional benefits. At this point it would be impossible to rewind the clock for the people who have lost out due to this corruption.
To me it seems the only thing that might bring about change in Russia is a strong response and banning of them from all games until there are tight international over sites put in place.
Just wait, Putin trolls are ready with their smoke and mirror propaganda arguments, claiming false equivalences, “Everyone else is doing it, so why point a finger at us.” That argument reveals a total lack of morals. Their only criterion for their behavior is whether or not someone else in the world is doing the same thing. It is the argument of a five year old.
34
I'm not outraged because I realize that the whole system is venal. The Olympics no longer have any entertainment value for me. Initially, the was because most of the athletes are professionals, but add to that the doping that's going on ... why would you bother to pay any attention? So, NBC or ESPN or whichever outfit is spending millions for the rights to cover the games, save your money.
Got news for you. the Olympics and no more guilty that the NFL or MLB.
1
But the Olympics were supposed to be about AMATEUR athletes. There used to be a difference.
1
I grew up loving the Olympics and while I certainly cheered for the American athletes, I had nothing but admiration when watching the best from any and every country. Today it seems so very different for all the reasons stated in this article and the other comments here I have read.
There is now a much bigger question than how do you ensure clean athletes, and its can and should the modern Olympics be saved. Personally I'd rather watch the neighborhood kids playing soccer than to follow this debacle any more.... and I hate soccer.
There is now a much bigger question than how do you ensure clean athletes, and its can and should the modern Olympics be saved. Personally I'd rather watch the neighborhood kids playing soccer than to follow this debacle any more.... and I hate soccer.
9
It would be nice if the Olympics could get cleaned up. It's really the only arena in which male and female athletes are given (for the most part) equal playing and billing time. At least that is the theory. The rest of the time, it's pretty much male sports all the time.
1
You have to make it a life time ban otherwise it's all a joke. There are plenty of hard working athletes who don't use drugs and train for years to get to the Olympics only to be beaten by drug fueled cheats.
3
Maybe the only way to create a level playing field is to allow PEDs. Sign the waiver and wave the flag!
2
Time to cancel the olympics
6
We should simply end the Olympics. They're nothing but a corrupt arena for corrupt nations and their corrupt athletes to obtain hollow awards. They're long past relevant in any meaningful sense.
9
The Olympics is thoroughly loathsome, a maudlin celebration of greed and cheesy sentiment that returns every two years like a viral rash. They are multi-billion-dollar events that bleed local economies dry and litter the world with white elephant sports facilities. And, it's a terrorism magnet like no other. End it once and for all.
13
Actually "like a four year viral rash" might be more correct.
1
I think John was referring to the fact that the summer and winter Olympics alternate every two years.
Apparently in politics if one does something to gain an unfair advantage they still get to compete.
5
The tragedy is that any remarkable performance is now viewed with suspicion. The most talented and hardest working (clean) athletes won't get the praise they genuinely deserve.
14
The Olympic Movement is dead. It's time to end the Olympics. It's so sad because I used to love it, but it has turned into a farce.
59
I used to love the Olympics as well. I was a good runner, but not nearly good enough for that level. Now I watch the track and field "Rainbow League" meets in Europe, and I see that the times are almost unbelieveable, but that the runners look like mechanical robots. They don't look like runners used to look.
Sponsors fall over themselves to be the "official (fill in the brand).The sponsorship is simply a reason to ask the grocery and liquor stores to put up end aisle display...and an op-pack feature/promotion offer if not a "special" Olympics bottle, box or can. The non-sponsors, not to be left out, then produce the faux Olympics displays (since they cannot use the O word) with such idiotic nonsense as "Go for the Gold, America" . Oh, wait. i sold that idea to one of my past clients Never mind.
Then the sponsors often rush to get an photo of one of America's gold winners - if we have any- on their next package roll out.
Then the sponsors often rush to get an photo of one of America's gold winners - if we have any- on their next package roll out.
5
I once had a reasonable chance of becoming an Olympian in an obscure sport, until Jimmy Carter decided to boycott the affair. It was my only real experience being a pawn in a large political game, and it soured forever my interest in Olympic sports. I haven't watched a single Olympics since.
No, I'm not bitter about it; at least not for personal reasons, though my friends who did go to the team trials and ultimately made the team on paper, were angry. I competed because I loved the sport, not what little fame and even less money came with it. To my knowledge, none of my fellow competitors doped. There was no purpose in doing so, really. We had fun, we worked hard, we consoled one another when we lost and we celebrated together when we won. It was a good community, and most of us are still friends after all these years.
I'm sure there are modern versions of these communities, but it's hard to imagine it centers around the personal and collective joys of doing something really well. The Olympics are so commercial, such media spectacles and delivery vehicles for products and political agendas. I hope modern day athletes experiences at least some of the joys we once did, back in the day. It sure was beautiful!
No, I'm not bitter about it; at least not for personal reasons, though my friends who did go to the team trials and ultimately made the team on paper, were angry. I competed because I loved the sport, not what little fame and even less money came with it. To my knowledge, none of my fellow competitors doped. There was no purpose in doing so, really. We had fun, we worked hard, we consoled one another when we lost and we celebrated together when we won. It was a good community, and most of us are still friends after all these years.
I'm sure there are modern versions of these communities, but it's hard to imagine it centers around the personal and collective joys of doing something really well. The Olympics are so commercial, such media spectacles and delivery vehicles for products and political agendas. I hope modern day athletes experiences at least some of the joys we once did, back in the day. It sure was beautiful!
49
That is why I watch the Paralympics more than the regular Olympics. It is less commercialized (although on its way).
1
I have scores of friends who have been or have hoped to have gone to the Olympics. However, in my sport, professionals are allowed to compete in the Olympics, so yeah - going to the Olympics has always been about honor, prestige, and money for these athletes. It doesn't make them corrupt, or cheaters, nor does it deteriorate the heart of the sport.
I believe the only two Olympic sports that still require amateur status are boxing and wrestling. However, even back in my day (1970's to 1980) there were all sorts of ways to evade the amateur requirement.
I have no issue with honor, prestige or money. That's great and good. I'm sure I'd still enjoy watching the actual sports if it weren't for all the commercials and endorsements, and generally annoying media glitz that, in my opinion as a former athlete, really detracts from the whole experience.
It's the same in the major professional sports, which I regularly cover in my side job as a sports photojournalist. I know some great athletes in this world. I also know the enormous pressures they are under to use PEDs and market themselves as commodities. It seems so dehumanizing.
I have no issue with honor, prestige or money. That's great and good. I'm sure I'd still enjoy watching the actual sports if it weren't for all the commercials and endorsements, and generally annoying media glitz that, in my opinion as a former athlete, really detracts from the whole experience.
It's the same in the major professional sports, which I regularly cover in my side job as a sports photojournalist. I know some great athletes in this world. I also know the enormous pressures they are under to use PEDs and market themselves as commodities. It seems so dehumanizing.
Perhaps my age is showing here but I'll have to admit that I gather no joy any longer like I used to from viewing the Olympics. Beginning from about the mid 1980's, it has become incrementally difficult not to be at the least skeptical, now downright cynical about the character and integrity of, first only a marginal few, now far too many to count Olympic participants, including USA. Modern day Olympics have morphed into exactly what they weren't supposed to become; about the money, in a similar trajectory of the NFL, college ball, European soccer. A near total waste of true athletic talent and spirit. No tears here.
83
...have morphed into exactly what they weren't supposed to become; about the money, ...
What in this world is not "about the money" any more? Tell me something not tainted by, not corrupted by the need or love for money.
What in this world is not "about the money" any more? Tell me something not tainted by, not corrupted by the need or love for money.
1
The difference between the Olympics and the NFL is that the Olympic teams don't have to pay for their athletes. So the show's "talent" is basically free. The big advantage to viewers is that we are not subjected to the games year after year.
1
And in the 60s, 70s, and 80 Eastern European athletes, especially the E. Germans, also doped.
Please don't let it be Phelps.
6
Can't we just end the ban on performance enhancers? End the pretense. Then let's just watch to see who's crazy enough to take so many drugs that they die. Kind of like a version of the Hunger Games?
11
I realize I am responding to a purposefully cynical and satirical comment, but If you go along and let anyone use PED's, then you have to force every athlete to use them in order to be fair, just like we force every soccer team in the Olympics to use the same kind of ball, every pole vaulter to use a pole within certain limits. Why not let one shot putter put a shot half the weight of another in order to gain an advantage instead of having officials weigh each one to make sure they are all the same weight? Why bother checking to see if race walkers always maintain contact with the ground? How about this for a novel idea? Teach people to respect their competitors as much as they respect money and fame. Maybe we can get a comedian to put that line in his/her stand-up routine to get a guaranteed laugh.
Brazil and the world should spend this money on the poor.
89
With the Microcephaly disease becoming so apparent all these banned athletes will see this as a blessing in disguise. As is, this whole thing should be cancelled. All we will see on TV is only Americans breaking new records in jumping and diving and all that carefully blended with stories about corrupt (Brazilian) politicians with strong opinions.
15
What a surprise. Russian athletes doping to win. Who would have thought that?
13
12 countries ... would not be the first time if the US was one of the 12 :(
1
Thank you for reminding us only foreigners (especially Russians) dope. Years ago, when L. Armstrong started to pile on his victories in France, many of us (including Greg Lemond) knew it could not be fair. But to mention that on line or live (as I did with my in-laws and cycling friends) brought down the nastiest rebuttal from his fans! Ask Greg...
So, please, ease off the herd instinct and outrage at them foreigners...
So, please, ease off the herd instinct and outrage at them foreigners...
Dr. Rodchenkov, you exposed the systematic doping by your country's athletes with government approval despite knowing that the same Russian Intelligence Service that helped with the cheating would also read both articles? Does the IOC or The NYTimes offered you a new identity and safe house somewhere in Wichita or Kalamazoo?
8
Rodenchenkov fled Russia because two of his co-conspirators died suddenly and suspiciously. He actually IS in hiding but with the information out in the public domain, even the FSB should realize that there's nothing to gain by silencing him now.
1
Two two top officials of the Russian doping agency have died under odd circumstances recently, so yes, his safety is an issue.
But my careful reading of spy thrillers suggests that the good Doctor is only at risk while his secrets are still a secret. Once he tells the world, killing him may dissuade others from cooperating but will no longer prevent an investigation.
Or at least, that is surely what the Times told him. But Jason Bourne and Robert Redford (Three Days of the Condor) had the same idea.
But my careful reading of spy thrillers suggests that the good Doctor is only at risk while his secrets are still a secret. Once he tells the world, killing him may dissuade others from cooperating but will no longer prevent an investigation.
Or at least, that is surely what the Times told him. But Jason Bourne and Robert Redford (Three Days of the Condor) had the same idea.
3
Doping has permeated all sports at all levels. It's almost futile to fight it. Why not enter a brave new world, where athletes dope at will? Faster, higher, stronger: better sports through chemistry. Let the best pharmaceutical company win.
This Olympics brought to you by Novartis.
This Olympics brought to you by Novartis.
9
And this is a surprise? News? Most of us don't even care about the Olympics. This flame has been slowly extinguished over the years. Who really cares anymore?
Can anyone remember even where recent Olympic events were held and when? Name any athletes? Didn't think so.
Can anyone remember even where recent Olympic events were held and when? Name any athletes? Didn't think so.
6
Speak for yourself. I still remember the thrill of watching Haile Gebreselassie edge out Paul Tergat in that all out sprint, at 3am EST, in the Sydney 10,000 meters. Just to name 2 non American athletes.
3
The thought of having to suffer through another opening ceremony; a spectacle combining Gilbert and Sullivan, Beach Blanket Babylon, Elton John, the Super Bowl halftime, LSD, beer, the Osmonds, Milli Vanilli, small children dressed as ducks, high mass, and corporate sponsorship is just too much for my heart to take.
Please merciful God, put a bullet in it, it needs to die.
Please merciful God, put a bullet in it, it needs to die.
70
But 10,000 almost naked samba dancers! Think of it!
2
Putting my money on Jamaica man, because there is no way this small island can have both men and women with both having the three best athletes in both the 100m & 200m each sexes! If not now at some point Jamaica like Lance Armstrong will get exposed! It Ben Johnson and Flo Jo, Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery!
However if we are going to keep pretending to the world that a clean Flo Jo ran a 10.49 almost 28 year ago and still holds the world record in the 100 meter & 200 meter but we act as if she was clean?
Bolt running a 9.58....right! I not believing he is clean!
However if we are going to keep pretending to the world that a clean Flo Jo ran a 10.49 almost 28 year ago and still holds the world record in the 100 meter & 200 meter but we act as if she was clean?
Bolt running a 9.58....right! I not believing he is clean!
5
Have to agree with you -- the Jamaican story doesn't come close to passing the smell test -- but my guess is they've found a way to circumvent testing, either with a new performance-enhancing substance or novel method of administering drugs.
4
Really? That's what you got out of the article- has to be Jamaica that explains why they beat us- seriously? Not, please let it not be anyone from the US?
A lot of countries dirty laundry will be revealed- most likely ours as well. Instead of talking smack about a third world country- with apparently the ability to produce "new performance-enhancing substance or novel method of administering drugs"- how about worrying what's going on in your own backyard. Who cares what's going on in other countries if we can't be proud of our own.
A lot of countries dirty laundry will be revealed- most likely ours as well. Instead of talking smack about a third world country- with apparently the ability to produce "new performance-enhancing substance or novel method of administering drugs"- how about worrying what's going on in your own backyard. Who cares what's going on in other countries if we can't be proud of our own.
1
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, that small island nation of Jamaica chased the US Men’s 4x400m relay to the wire, in race after race, year after year. Probably no drugs involved. George Rhoden, Herb McKinley....
2
Either permit performing enhancement drugs or drop the whole thing, which is nothing but a sham. Not sure what the purpose is any more. We have plenty of pro sports in USA to keep us happy. Let the others do what they want.
1
Blood instead of urine test for PEDs can't come soon enough.
4
It's time to cancel the Olympics. It has lost all its glamour, all its meaning. It's perceived as nothing but a joke - full of crooks, cheaters, and waaaaay overblown budgets.
51
Not going to happen, way to many folks make big bucks via the Olympics - either through corruption or legit means. Sad thing is only a few of the athletes make any real money in the process - and therein lies the incentive to cheat.
As someone who grew up watching Caitlin Jenner excel at the Olympics, I wonder what, if any thoughts she might have about this.
Either they really crack down or they say, drug fueled Olympics. The current model is simply a farce.
Either they really crack down or they say, drug fueled Olympics. The current model is simply a farce.
9
who could possibly care what Jenner has to say about this now. why is that opinion any more important than anyone else's?
20
It was Bruce Jenner who won the Olympic gold medal in Men's decathlon with high achievement in each sport individually, and it was truly inspiring especially after Munich. If you think it was a Caitlin who did that, your is a sad error and it would be better if you didn't comment at all.
2
It is well past time to bring the current Olympic movement to an end. It has long since become nothing more than a vehicle for corruption on a massive scale. Officials are bribed during the awarding of the games. Countries spend money they don't have to construct white elephant venues. Athletic officials and athletes themselves engage in any manor of illegal performance enhancement they believe they can get away with. And American television networks pay outrageous sums of money to broadcast this staged farce, plying the audience with feel-good stories while ignoring their own role in underwriting the whole thing. Enough already.
182
Most of your complaints apply to American organized sport.
"Countries spend money they don't have to construct white elephant venues." American cities spend money they don't have to construct huge stadiums.
"Athletic officials and athletes themselves engage in any manor of illegal performance enhancement they believe they can get away with. " True for MLB, NFL, and NBA.
"And American television networks pay outrageous sums of money to broadcast this staged farce, plying the audience with feel-good stories while ignoring their own role in underwriting the whole thing. "
The problem is organized sport, not just the Olympics.
"Countries spend money they don't have to construct white elephant venues." American cities spend money they don't have to construct huge stadiums.
"Athletic officials and athletes themselves engage in any manor of illegal performance enhancement they believe they can get away with. " True for MLB, NFL, and NBA.
"And American television networks pay outrageous sums of money to broadcast this staged farce, plying the audience with feel-good stories while ignoring their own role in underwriting the whole thing. "
The problem is organized sport, not just the Olympics.
I hope more instances of confirmed doping will lower interest in the Olympic games. Less interest in the games will reduce the obscene amount of money sloshing around from advertisers and that sadly will be the only impetus for cleaning up the games.
62
There was a time when I really got excited about the Olympics - about spectacular feats of athleticism, about superhuman performances, and so on. But what the Olympics have devolved into is farcical, to say the least. It rewards, essentially, cheaters who attempt to gain an unfair advantage, or physically advantaged freaks of nature, with little hope for a good old, honest and hard-working athlete. Of course, the excessive commercialization doesn't help - it enhances the desire to cheat or gain an unfair advantage given the lucrative sponsorships, etc that can follow. As a result, you have the comic possibility of someone cheating to win beach volleyball, while real athletes in sports such as wrestling or squash don't even get to compete.
45
Whatever. Let them take whatever superpower pills they want. Then let's cancel this boondoggle of a corporate advertising opportunity and all go out and play in the park. The Olympics mean nothing to me.
103
The elephant in the living room isn't individual athletes, but entire governments conspiring to corrupt their own country's olympic committees and systems. When will the IOC have the courage to ban entire countries from competition?
Let's start with Russia, which has been orchestrating this from the top-down for years.
Let's start with Russia, which has been orchestrating this from the top-down for years.
86
Russia still seems mired in the ways of the old soviet union. usa isn't much better. stories of the USOC being not so keen on vigilant testing--flo jo, lewis, for starters, because of all the tv money dished out by American networks.
4
However noble the mission of the Olympics may once have been, well, those days certainly seem to be over. Doping, terrorism, political corruption, fiscal chaos for host countries, and the preponderance of well-paid professional athletes at the games have all contributed to its demise. Time to stop pretending. Let this be the last Olympics.
142
It's all about the money.
65
It's time to relegate sport to it's proper place: fun for children. Puppies need to play: grown ups need to, well, be grownups.
10
Why? If someone has a genuine talent in a sport, why shouldn't they be encouraged to develop it, (just as those good at math or art are encouraged to develop their talents).
3
Thomas, just wondering if you are up on the latest medical research: regular aerobic and strength exercise improves health for all ages. If "sport" includes all types of physical activities, then adults need this kind of fun, maybe more than children.
1
Let's not all get crazy over doping in the Olympic Games. Sure, they're fun and exciting to watch, but the notion that "pure sport" and "noble spirits" universally comprise the Olympic movement is farcical. When you have thousands of athletes competing, the cheaters are hard to separate from those who are honest. Instead of making myself crazy over deciding who is or isn't using PEDs, I think to myself, "They're just games," and let it go. P.S. Is rhythmic dancing a game?
4
They're not going to have to worry about banning athletes...with the Zika virus rampant, I'm sure there are going to be quite a few athletes who decide not to go.
17