'Angry' Sifan Hassan says 'I am clean' after 1500m World Championships win
@blanchy.sports wrote an excellent piece on the Salazar scandal and in particular the rather nonchalant comments of Paula Radcliffe. You can read it here:
I shared this article because another BBC commentator, the legend that is Michael Johnson had a rather more pragmatic argument to put forward after 10000m and 1500m champion Sifan Hassan's outburst of anger (or guilt?) at being tarnished by association with Salazar whom she
still believes in
I think this is just the beginning of a huge scandal as more details emerge and no one in the Nike Oregon Project, or Nike themselves are going to come out of this with any credit.
I would suggest Russia, who are currently banned from competition are watching on in glee and we will see if there are such far-reaching sanctions imposed on Western athletes within this program.
What's really sad is that the whole of athletics and the athletes become embroiled in all this and none of the records and results really mean anything without there being truly global competition which is so sad for any genuinely clean athletes.
I am in total agreement with Michael Johnson
People have the right to say what they want to say. People and fans of this sport are so sick and tired of drugs cheats.
They have zero tolerance at this point so if you are associated with a coach who is banned, you missed your whereabouts filings, test positive, or have any connection with anything to do with doping, they are done with you and that's just the way it is. Athletes need to understand that.
If you are clean and want to prove that, you are not going to get that done by being angry.
A very guarded way of pointing the finger I think and I bet there was no love lost on the BBC commentary couch between him and Radcliffe.
So, whats next IAAF ? You need to get a grip on this and deal with, and be seen to deal with this impartially and thoroughly before the public get completely sick and tired of the whole sport.
Source of shared Link
The crazy part is this has been going on since, what, 2015? Yet, so many athletes associated with him after the initial alligations.
Those who did were asking to have a dark shadow looming over them, and of course, I don't think anyway that was coach or close to him is clean.
I've also felt during many interviews that the athletes around are playing "dumb" acting like they didn't know anything. Were they living under a rock?
It reminds me of the Germans in WW2 using POWS as medical Guinea Pigs. I personally suspect that no traces of drugs will ever be found in any retested samples but the fact will remain that at best its had been very unsportsmanlike to constantly be trying new medical techniques for improving performance that stay within IAAF guidelines.
'It's just not cricket' as we say in the UK, but shame on all the NOP athletes who MUST have known that that's what was happening there.
I totally agree that everyone has is own opinion to make but the issue of drugs in athletics is become too much
The media vultures are circling. More is going to come out. Salazar is caught. Next are his students. He used testoserone on his son to see what levels would "be detected " so his athletes wouldn't have a positive. Pushing the boundaries indeed. Johnson was guarded but his response was a hell of alot better than Paulas
It is kind of crazy to me that people still try and often times succeed to get away with stuff like this. I mean, I get it is all a huge joke, especially in light of what happens in baseball when you are caught doping (ie, you still end up in the hall of fame). Something needs to be done though. There needs to be consistent and harsh penalties across the board for all sports.
really crazy moment for a winer in life