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.
Actually, Jones was implicated by heresay just as Clemens has been.
It is not hearsay, for the last time! Clemens has been implicated by a person who not only saw but also administered the drugs, allegedly. If you ditrectly witnessed it or, in this case, actually did it, it is NOT HEARSAY!
Do you have any proof that she, or Clemmons, or Marion aren't? The point is and has been testing is way behind the cheaters and in my opinion if an athlete does something never seen or done before than its inherant in us to ask and question.
Actually, Jones was implicated by heresay just as Clemens has been. Torres has not been implicated in any way other than the fact that her appearance has changed. It is definitely not out of the realm of possibility for her physique to change with hard work. Changes in diet and life style could have prompted that change along with increased workload.
There were scientists that published peer-reviewed research papers 'proving' that a man would never break 4 minutes in the mile or 10 seconds for the 100 meter dash. Both have been broken. And while I won't vouch for current athletes, but I am reasonably certain that Bob Hines wasn't cheating when he became the first man to break the 10 second barrier and that Roger Bannister wasn't cheating when he broke 4 minutes. Yet these records were unheard of.
Just because it hasn't been done before doesn't mean that it can't be done without cheating.
Comparing Susan with Dara is not that good of a comparison. Note, Susan made her Olympic teams in individual events not just relays. Susan is very naturally strong and talented, but she has not transformed her body as dramatically as Dara...
My purpose in the comparison is to note that Dara's performance is not such a quantum leap forward as it has been presented, not to compare their physical attributes and changes. (Frankly, I have not really paid attention.)
Specifically: if Susan trained with the resources and intensity that Dara has, I don't think that it would be so outlandish to think she might accomplish something similar. I also think Dara has picked the best of all possible events for this purpose.
Yes, it was a breakthrough. Suspicious? Maybe, I really don't know one way or another; neither do any of us. I am just as suspicious of her as I am of any of the current top athletes. But my point is that the performance itself does not immediately scream "doping" to me, given her past performances, her current training, and her chosen events.
Passage from "Every Second Counts" by Armstrong with Jenkins
When his interview was finished, Johan asked one of the officers why the investigation was taking so long. Johan said, "All the tests have been done, everything has been done, and there is nothing, nothing, nothing."
The police investigator was sympathetic, almost apologetic. He told Johan, "The scientific expert who does the tests thinks he has overlooked something. He says it's not possible that there is nothing."
Johan was incredulous. "What?"
"He says the performance is on such a high level that it's not normal. This guy wants to find something."
So there was our problem. We weren't guilty, but that wasn't necessarily good enough for the French scientist who wanted us to be guilty.
It is human nature to reject anything outside the average as "not normal". But saying that the average person couldn't do it (without drugs/cheating) is not the same as saying it couldn't be done by someone on the freakish side of the range of human ability.
One excellent way to flush out a cheater is to look at their meet schedule/attendance in the months prior to major competition. I wonder if such an evaluation of this has been done in this particular case?
He said, she said, they all say. But I only want proof positive. Hearsay is not good enough. I want a proof positive drug test before I would even bring up the subject.
If a picture is proof, I am going to take pictures of every swimmer who wins a race and say they are on the podium they must use drugs.
Where does that leave all top tens. They must be druggies they are in the top ten.
Marion Jones never tested positive.
I seriously doubt Dara will either.
Are we back to this loophole quagmire? Why not give the girl some credit, she's training appropriately for her events.
Why don't you guys figure out what it is that you think she is using (bathing in ox blood or what have you), and then request that she be tested for that substance. Chances are, she will oblige.
