The latest doping scandal to confront athletics has dealt a crippling blow to the credibility of all-time top-10 list of 100m runners. The reported doping violation by Jamaica’s Asafa Powell and Nesta Carter,and USA’s Tyson Gay leaves just two sprinters – Usain Bolt (No. 1) and Donovan Bailey (No. 10) – with squeaky clean images in the hall of fame for the fastest track athletes.
WADA’s latest swoop has taken the sheen off the most-watched Olympic event,while denting Jamaica’s reputation as a sprinting hub that produces clean champions.
For years,the world,especially Jamaica,accused American athletes of playing dirty while they ran away with most track events. Jamaica’s stand was vindicated when several high-profile American Olympic medalists tested positive,adding spice to the rivalry.
The island nation,on the other hand,had fans all over the world who believed the reason for the ‘naturally gifted’ Jamaicans’ rapid strides was their diet of yam and bananas. It was a great story and everyone lapped it up.
Their overwhelming success at the Beijing Olympics,where they virtually swept all sprint medals,brought them under scanner. Allegations of ‘dope labs’ being run on Jamaican shores were refuted angrily. They claimed a Western conspiracy.
In the last five years,there have been 11 doping violations involving Jamaican sprinters. The reigning 100m world champion at that time Yohan Blake,the third-fastest man behind Bolt and Gay,missed the 2009 Worlds after he was suspended for three months for a doping violation. Steve Mullings,the eighth-quickest runner of all time,was sentenced to a life ban last year after his second doping offence. With Powell and women’s sprint star Sherone Simpson in the dock,the Jamaican bubble seems to have burst.
Mihir is senior correspondent based in Mumbai
mihir.vasvda@expressindia.com
