Katie Ledecky tonight won the 800 metres freestyle (beating, alas, Rebecca Adlington) at just 15 years of age. She said she had shaved 20 seconds off her time in the last year so can we now expect the Americans to question her progress? Ah, perhaps not, because she is American. These games have shown how althletes can improve their personal best times so unless and until there is evidence to show they have cheated, I will just enjoy their successes.
ps I am a bit concerned about Stu's reference in his first post to 'the work ethic in China dwarfs'. Don't the taller Chinese have the same work ethic??:-)
Surly there will come a time when it will become humanly impossible to seconds off records. If we carry on at this rate the event will have finished before its begun. As for Ye Shiwen, her achievement has been tainted by her countries past activities with doping.
If I were the Chinese I'd politely be enquiring how when their swimmer knocks 5s off her time over a 2 year period its due to doping,but when an American girl knocks 20s off her time in 10 months no questions are asked.
Surly there will come a time when it will become humanly impossible to seconds off records. If we carry on at this rate the event will have finished before its begun. As for Ye Shiwen, her achievement has been tainted by her countries past activities with doping.
ps I am a bit concerned about Stu's reference in his first post to 'the work ethic in China dwarfs'. Don't the taller Chinese have the same work ethic??:-)
It's the 26hours a day of school that makes them small, the tall ones are clearly lazy, that's why they suck at basketball ;-)
Surly there will come a time when it will become humanly impossible to seconds off records. If we carry on at this rate the event will have finished before its begun. As for Ye Shiwen, her achievement has been tainted by her countries past activities with doping.
Check out Americas past activities with doping.
Check out any country, drugs in sport isn't unique to China's past alone but their (swimmers) performances in pool a few years back is still fresh in the memory. Their coach put the outstanding performances and results down to training methods and turtles blood but not doping. For me, China and Ye Shiwen will have to repeat these performances over the next few years to repair the damage to their name. In the past and maybe today the best chemists (not Boots or Lloyds) won medals. Whenever there is an outstanding performance, regardless of nationality, doping will be mentioned. Unless its us. We're British and play fair ;-)
Interesting report on Radio 4's More Or Less programme on drug taking in sport. It doesn't suggest there's any problem with Ye Shiwen's swim. Instead it suggests that many athletics records from the '80s may never be broken as a result of doping around that era.
Mens: Discus - June 86 Shot Put - May 90 Long Jump - Aug 91 4x400m - Aug 93 High Jump - July 93 Pole Vault - July 94 Triple Jump - Aug 95 Hammer - May 96 1500 m - July 98 1 mile - July 98 400m - Aug 99 100m Aug 2009 200m - Aug 2009 800m - Aug 2010
---------------------------
Women
800m - July 83 400m Oct 85 High Jump - Aug 87 Long Jump - Jun 88 100 m - Jul 88 100m hurdles - Aug 88 200m - Sep 88 1500 - Sep 93 10k - Sep 93 mile - Aug 96
Comments
An average high school kid starts at 7am and finishes at around 10pm. Now just imagine what their star athletes have to go through.
ps I am a bit concerned about Stu's reference in his first post to 'the work ethic in China dwarfs'. Don't the taller Chinese have the same work ethic??:-)
As for Ye Shiwen, her achievement has been tainted by her countries past activities with doping.
It's the 26hours a day of school that makes them small, the tall ones are clearly lazy, that's why they suck at basketball ;-)
For me, China and Ye Shiwen will have to repeat these performances over the next few years to repair the damage to their name.
In the past and maybe today the best chemists (not Boots or Lloyds) won medals. Whenever there is an outstanding performance, regardless of nationality, doping will be mentioned. Unless its us. We're British and play fair ;-)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01l8rbq
Starts at 0:01:45
Mens:
Discus - June 86
Shot Put - May 90
Long Jump - Aug 91
4x400m - Aug 93
High Jump - July 93
Pole Vault - July 94
Triple Jump - Aug 95
Hammer - May 96
1500 m - July 98
1 mile - July 98
400m - Aug 99
100m Aug 2009
200m - Aug 2009
800m - Aug 2010
---------------------------
Women
800m - July 83
400m Oct 85
High Jump - Aug 87
Long Jump - Jun 88
100 m - Jul 88
100m hurdles - Aug 88
200m - Sep 88
1500 - Sep 93
10k - Sep 93
mile - Aug 96