Once bitter rivals on the track American Tyson Gay and Jamaica’s Asafa Powell now have something in common and I'm not talking about all the medals. Yes you've heard the devastating news that these illustrious Olympic sprinters have both failed their drug tests.
30 year old Gay the 2nd fastest man over the 100m ever, failed an out-of-competition test on May 16. While Powell, the all-time fourth quickest over the distance, was reportedly found to have a stimulant called Oxilofrine in his system at June's Jamaican Championships.
And let’s not forget three-time Olympic medallist Sherone Simpson who has also tested positive for a banned substance.
Without casting any aspersions on anyone, I think at this juncture I can say “What the hell heck is going on ?” As if Veronica Campbell Brown's case wasn't bad enough, Now this!!!
As a long time supporter of the sport, I cannot tell you how difficult it was for me to walk into the newsroom this morning. The scandal is one of our top sport stories today and My fellow colleagues did not hesitate to point out these latest doping violations. You see, since that fateful day in Beijing when Usain Bolt shocked the world with a record of 9.69 sec, I have been fielding questions like: Surely he’s on drugs? Come on, all of them dope right? etc...you get the drift.
Naturally I've defended the sport to the utmost, pointing out that most doping violations weren't really from successful sprinters. Enter ***strangled cough, hiccup and a sneeze***. Of course that little fake explanation has gone out the window and I'm scrambling to make sense of it all. Notable players in the track world are dubbing this a “sad day”, “difficult day” or a “dark day”. I am saying it really does NOT look good for the sport.
But take heart track fans as the known banned substances in these cases are a diuretic and a stimulant, which does not resemble the steroids and designer drugs that took down some of the past athletic giants such as Ben Johnson, Tim Montgomery, Marion Jones etc... take from it what you will. However, despite the fundamental difference, you gotta admit it all sounds/rings familiar...which is rather unfortunate.
In the meantime Gay has since pulled out of next month’s world championships and has offered no excuses.
“I don’t have a sabotage story. I don’t have any lies. I don’t have anything to say to make this seem like it was a mistake or it was on USADA’s hands, someone playing games... I don’t have any of those stories. I basically put my trust in someone and I was let down.”
Powell never did make the cut for individual spots on the Jamaican team but was hoping to at least qualify for the relay team. He seems to have a positive outlook "I am reeling from this genuinely surprising result. I am confident, however, that I will come out stronger and wiser and better prepared to deal with the many twists and turns of being a professional athlete."
People are already calling for their heads, Some countries are seeing this as an opportunity to finally be among the medals... but like you all I await further details/information on this.
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