Dara just one the national title in the 100M Freestyle in 54.4 at the ripe old age of 40. Simply Incredible. :applaud: :woot:
If that's not inspiring I don't know what is.
What I am much more interested in is the alternative hypothesis: if she isn't cheating, what is she doing DIFFERENTLY that could account for her performance? I do recall that one of Ande's tip's suggest we change SOMETHING to get different results.
I doubt that spending less time in the pool (relative to collegiate standards) and spending more time on core strengthening and resistance training is all that unique among master's athletes. From reading the NYTimes article, its clear that her nearly constant use of massage therapists is very unique; who among us could afford TWO full time therapists? I have no idea if this can be the critical factor.
Now that is an interesting line of thought and very worthy of looking into. This is certainly one direction where this thread could be going. Discussions of drug testing techniques and why negative tests should be treated with a healthy dose of skepticism are an equally valid direction for it to take, too.
However, an unsubstantiated opinion like: "Personally, I have my doubts." is neither constructive nor informative. It adds nothing to the debate at all. It is just negative and detracting.
I don't know Dara and, therefore, am not qualified to comment on whether she is a cheater or not. All I am saying is that I reserve any verdict until proven otherwise.
Neither am I saying that skepticism is not healthy or understandable. I welcome informed skepticism.
All I am saying is that it is possible to be fair and have constructive debate at the same time.
Syd
What I am much more interested in is the alternative hypothesis: if she isn't cheating, what is she doing DIFFERENTLY that could account for her performance? I do recall that one of Ande's tip's suggest we change SOMETHING to get different results.
I doubt that spending less time in the pool (relative to collegiate standards) and spending more time on core strengthening and resistance training is all that unique among master's athletes. From reading the NYTimes article, its clear that her nearly constant use of massage therapists is very unique; who among us could afford TWO full time therapists? I have no idea if this can be the critical factor.
Now that is an interesting line of thought and very worthy of looking into. This is certainly one direction where this thread could be going. Discussions of drug testing techniques and why negative tests should be treated with a healthy dose of skepticism are an equally valid direction for it to take, too.
However, an unsubstantiated opinion like: "Personally, I have my doubts." is neither constructive nor informative. It adds nothing to the debate at all. It is just negative and detracting.
I don't know Dara and, therefore, am not qualified to comment on whether she is a cheater or not. All I am saying is that I reserve any verdict until proven otherwise.
Neither am I saying that skepticism is not healthy or understandable. I welcome informed skepticism.
All I am saying is that it is possible to be fair and have constructive debate at the same time.
Syd
