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Kelly Holmes effect ?

Wonder why the sudden upturn in British female athletes, who for the first time are really putting the men into their place.

Comments

  • A lot of these lasses were coming through the system pre Kelly, more the Sally Gunnell effect to be honest.
  • great golf when your shot is described as a sally gunnell.
  • Isn't it more that the men are now complete pony whereas the women have held their own and are now on the up?

    I honestly can't think of one male British athlete off the top of my head that isn't a sprinter, unless David Moorcroft is still going?
  • The girl who won, suspended for missing three out of contest drugs tests, comes back and from nowhere suddenly wins the world title? Just a co-incidence...???
  • wouldn't say co-incidence Bing, i think it shows amazing resilience and mental strength after what was probably a terrible period for her.

    If anything, it probably emphasises the fact she wasn't a cheat.
  • Quote taken from the BBC website

    "It was very tough, but I'm very proud of myself because I worked hard and I had an operation on both legs which was hard enough. "

    That'll be when they put the bionics in then!
  • takes the gloss off when you hear of her past,would have liked the silver medaled girl get that gold.
  • Even the Court of Abitration of Sport said whe was probably innocent of doing anything wrong apart from being disorganised. She never tested positive for anything.
  • [cite]Posted By: AFKA Bartram[/cite]wouldn't say co-incidence Bing, i think it shows amazing resilience and mental strength after what was probably a terrible period for her.

    If anything, it probably emphasises the fact she wasn't a cheat.

    The problem is AFKA, the whole sport is tainted. Look at Linford Christie. Always claimed a squeaky clean image. Yet it always struck me as odd that he should have turned from an average sprinter, suddenly into a world beater. I believed him then he gets caught in some micky mouse competition at the end of his career. Of course he professed his innocence.

    I'd like to think that she has come through her adversity and this has driven her to success and its a fairly tale story. But......how can you miss three drugs tests, blaming the Rio Ferdinand excuse that "I forgot". It seems pretty bloody unlikely to me.
  • Athletics, sadly, is nearly as bad as cycling for drug abuse.

    It's reached the stage whereby you wonder what they're on whenever you see an outstanding performance or, if it's an endurance event, have they had EPO blood transfusions like Mark Fish (legitimately I hasten to add) after he fell through his coffee table or whatever he did!

    It's a real shame because we should be really celebrating two British girls achieving one and two in their event at the World Championships.
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  • [cite]Posted By: pickwick[/cite]Even the Court of Abitration of Sport said whe was probably innocent of doing anything wrong apart from being disorganised. She never tested positive for anything.

    They probably had to say that. Hey look she may be completely innocent but so many are cheating, it's very hard to pick the ones who aren't. All I would say is that athletes have it drummed into them that they must avoid all contact with certain substances and are required to attend out of competition testing. She missed, not one, not two, but three tests. I can believe one, I could just about cope with two, but three, that is not just a case of being disorganised in my book, she didn't get tested deliberately. Maybe she had taken some recreational stuff, who knows, maybe it was a cold remedy which should not have been taken but she didn't just forget.
  • Think you are looking at that Bing, in no offence, as a bit of an outsider of the sport.

    The 'off the cuff' drug testing was very loosely formulated in this country. Turn up here, turn up there etc. Vuirtually every athelete missed tests because that was just how it was. What has happened to Christina has had a big impact on everyone and changed the way it is arranged. For example, her last test, she was due to be training at one track, it was later discovered there was a schools meeting booked for that track, so she went and trained at another. The testers went to the original one.

    Since then she, and a lot of atheletes have said that if you want to test me, then come to my house first thing in the morning. She's been tested countless times this year, passed every one, and has now gone and won the world title despite little competition. I take my hat off to her and her determination.

    I honestly believe less cheat than people realise. Of course they take supplements, so do every sports person, but if there is an argument that the drug input gets more sophisticated every year, then so do he testing apparatus. There will be a tiny percent that beat the system, but not many.

    We have a world champion that has battled adversity. Celebrate it.
  • celebrate the silver more
  • why ?

    if everyone is cheats then the girl who got silver may of been cheating but hasn't been caught ?
  • actually, i celebrate both. To be in the top two in your event in the world is an amazing achievment. I cheered my arse off during the backstraight, and filled up like i always do when i heard 'god save the queen' after.
  • missed three drug tests?
  • are you aware of all the other athletes who have missed drug tests ?

    as said before, the formality of drug testing has changed considerably in the last twleve months. He is an athlete, who no doubt would of been tested more than the vast majority of athletes in the last twelve months, and has come through a world champion.
  • I think she's a she, actually...
  • who nos,with all those steroids
  • LOL, beat me too it Nolly :-)
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  • But, AFKA, I thought you said she didn't...
  • i run down the track in catford,see chambers there all the time,now were agreed thats a CHEAT
  • WELL I WALK ROUND THE TRACK
  • [quote][cite]Posted By: AFKA Bartram[/cite]are you aware of all the other athletes who have missed drug tests ?

    as said before, the formality of drug testing has changed considerably in the last twleve months. He is an athlete, who no doubt would of been tested more than the vast majority of athletes in the last twelve months, and has come through a world champion.[/quote]

    The problem with all this is not whether or not she was on drugs or not it is that the punishment she recieved for missing three tests was minimal (even less if she is allowed in the olympics). By allowing her to be treated so leniently it opens the door for athletes that are doped up to miss tests to avoid getting caught knowing that the punishment is far less severe than if they had taken the test.
  • Rio Ferdinand - 8 months.
  • [quote][cite]Posted By: WSS[/cite]Rio Ferdinand - 8 months.[/quote]

    my point exactly. although footballers are a different animal when it comes to drug testing, the chances of your average pro getting tested three times in 18 months let alone missing that many are next to nil.
  • I think she has been pretty lucky. If she was Russian then everyone would assume that she missed the tests on purpose and she would have had Paula Radcliffe holding up a banner during the medal ceremony saying sge sgould be banned for life.
  • [cite]Posted By: AFKA Bartram[/cite]Think you are looking at that Bing, in no offence, as a bit of an outsider of the sport.

    The 'off the cuff' drug testing was very loosely formulated in this country. Turn up here, turn up there etc. Vuirtually every athelete missed tests because that was just how it was. What has happened to Christina has had a big impact on everyone and changed the way it is arranged. For example, her last test, she was due to be training at one track, it was later discovered there was a schools meeting booked for that track, so she went and trained at another. The testers went to the original one.

    Since then she, and a lot of atheletes have said that if you want to test me, then come to my house first thing in the morning. She's been tested countless times this year, passed every one, and has now gone and won the world title despite little competition. I take my hat off to her and her determination.

    I honestly believe less cheat than people realise. Of course they take supplements, so do every sports person, but if there is an argument that the drug input gets more sophisticated every year, then so do he testing apparatus. There will be a tiny percent that beat the system, but not many.

    We have a world champion that has battled adversity. Celebrate it.

    So the system was crap. Are you saying that many other athletes missed three tests and got away with it? I don't know whether she is a cheat or not. We don't know what designer drugs are being taken which at present are un-detected. What we do know is that out of competition testing is designed to catch cheats who are clever at laying off the drugs in the run up to events where they know they will be tested. What we also know is that other than Ben Johson and Dwayne Chambers, virtually no one has admitted to taking drugs and yet the sport is riddled with it. Call me a cynic but I have lost faith in athletics and swimming and cycling. Sorry.
  • me too Bing. I cant celebrate this win either.
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