THE DEATH PENALTY is supposed to be a deterrent, but it doesn’t prevent people from committing murder.
Similarly, despite all the education and testing procedures put in place by various organisations, it doesn’t stop athletes from trying to beat the system and cheating.
But what if some of the same organisations that are supposed to be policing the system are seen to be making a big mess of it?
Their credibility is questioned and it makes a mockery if you are alleged to be a partner in helping to cover up wrongdoing.
The allegations against the IAAF, athletics governing body, that they have conspired in the past decade to cover up what appeared to be thousands of “suspicious” dope tests, didn’t make for pleasant reading, given that you were talking about the parent body that should be setting the example in the quest to clamp down on those who prefer to place their trust in cheating rather than training hard.
As expected, the IAAF denied the allegations but the mere fact that they were exposed by a whistle-blower who sent the data to the British and German media, is an indictment on them and a level of proof that not everybody is pleased with the way they have handled these matters.
Middle distance track legend Lord Sebastian Coe, who’s favourite to be the next president of the IAAF, appeared to be trying to be politically correct in his rebuttal of the allegations claiming that there were elements trying to discredit the sport ahead of the World Championships later this month in China.
He came across as a typical politician trying to win favour with the electorate knowing full well that there are issues to be dealt with but preferring to brush them aside expediently just to muster votes.
On the other hand, his opponent, Russian Sergei Bubka, the pole vault great, took a more pragmatic course of response to the allegations saying the sport’s administrators need to be a lot more vigilant to keep it clean.
I found him more credible because it is well documented that his country has the worst record when it comes to drug abuse in track and field, yet he was prepared to take the middle road knowing full well it could affect his presidential chances as well as risk earning the scorn of his compatriots.
The truth, though, is that some people need to take off their blinkers even if the IAAF were to prove the recent allegations to be false. Track and field has a problem with drug cheats and it won’t go away by pretending that there isn’t one when the evidence is there for all to see.
The Ben Johnson saga at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 brought it to the fore but he said when he was caught for steroid use, he was only being made the scapegoat because there were others who were doing the same thing but the status quo was shielding them and covering up their wrongdoing.
His detractors poured scorn on him and labelled him as a disgrace to the sport, but years later he was vindicated in his stance when it was revealed that the United Stated States Anti-Doping Association (USADA) had actually covered up the drug-taking trail of numerous of its athletes, some of whom were very high profiled.
Herein lies the quandary and the hypocrisy at the highest level.There appears in many instances one law for the Persians and another for the Medes.
For instance, Johnson was banned for life after failing two drugs tests. Justin Gatlin is still competing after failing two tests. Jamaican Steve Mullins and others were out after two strikes. So what’s the rationale behind that and Gatlin’s retention?
Tyson Gay used a steroid and came up with what seemed to be the usual explanation you hear from athletes when they get caught, but was banned for only a year instead of the standard two because he cooperated with USADA and became a whistle-blower during their investigations on his matter.
Why does it appear that discretion is used in some cases and not all?
This to me, is at the heart of the expose on the IAAF testing systems and maybe that is what was intended to be revealed in the leaked documents to the media.It is on this score that they need to comment and bring accountability to the conversation. They can’t be seen to be discriminatory and selective in the process and hope to earn trust and respect from onlookers.
Let’s face it, track and field is the showpiece of all the major games.
It is not by chance that it attracted over 80 000 spectators daily at the last Olympics in London 2012.
With the Rio Games a year away, the onus is on the governing body of the sport to give the world greater assurance that it’s doing all in its power, in leading the fight to cleanse it of the scourge of premeditated drug use in an attempt to gain an unfair advantage on those who choose to act otherwise.
• Andi Thornhill is an experienced, award-winning sports journalist.
