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Dwain Chambers

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited January 2023 in General Chat
Should he barred from Athletics for life or has he served his time? I'm split on this, I still remember the disgust and disappointment of finding out that certain athletes had taken drugs when I was younger. Now I'm older I'm wondering if someone genuinely has turned their back on it after being punished should they continue to 'restraint of trade' for life.
Post edited by JustV on

Comments

  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    Let him compete.
    He could be used quite effectively as spokesman againts the use of drugs in sport.
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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My thoughts too but I can understand the anger of some of his fellow athletes. Still not sure if their feelings should be taken into consideration though when you are talking about someone earning a living.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think the only way to get rid of drugs cheats in athletics is to have worldwide bans for life for anyone caught. Harsh perhaps, but the sport has absolutely no credibility left, and "former" drugs cheats competing again only ruins it further.

    How many years was he competing before he got caught? Are you telling me he only did it once? Give me a break, he'll have been cheating for years and will be one of the few unlucky ones to get caught. They had a former supplier of illegal drugs on Hard Talk and he revealed that the top level of athletics is an even playing field, it's just not the playing field that everyone thought. He claimed that clean athletes are the exception rather than the rule, and it certainly would appear that way with every new golden boy or girl from America ending up getting caught.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I agree with IWS.

    They should either impose lifetime bans or stop whinging about it. They handed him his penalty for doing what he did, he served his suspension and so he should be allowed to compete.

    If people want to get angry that he's been allowed to compete then that's fine, but don't direct it at the athlete, direct it at the people who gave him the puny punishment.
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    Exactly.
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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Well they were hoisted by their own petard in this one because they set the length of the ban in the first place. It's a bit much to ban someone for a period and then, after that period, moan about them coming back to compete.

    Should there be life bans? Probably, but they didn't give one out so that's that.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    And no-one has mentioned Christina, whatsherface - but the Chambers isn't part of the right clique...

    Funnily enough most of the outspoken atheletes are also starngely quiet about Linford Christie's role in UK Athletics... funnily enough the clique things seems to apply there too :chin:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Chambers is a slightly different case though, since he hasn't been drug tested in 2 years. That shot-putter has also just come back from a ban, but he'd be subjected to testing in that period. Again, the UK athletics were stupid enough to just assume that Dwain Chambers wasn't going to run again, because he tried his hand at American football. But he never retired, so you can only blame the testers for ignoring him.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm with Roger Black on this one- UKA can't afford a legal battle against Dwain Chambers' lawyers particularly after the Diane Modahl ordeal and especially since Chambers has a lot going for him in terms of his performances- so it's a catch-22 situation. No one has mentioned that a leading athletics event promoter responsible for 51 European meetings (including the prestigious Golden League events) have released a statement stating that they will no longer allow athletes who have previously tested positive to compete. This seems absolutely right to me- private companies are not governed by the same rules as National Governing Bodies and it would seem to go some way at least to prevent adverse media coverage wholly centred around the issue of drugs which is damaging the reputation of athletics.

    Christina Ohuruogu missed three drugs tests and was justifiably punished for her oversight, but it also highlighted the broader scale of missed drugs tests in the UK, where hundreds of athletes in many different sports have two strikes against their name.

    Drugtesting agencies are always playing catch-up to drugs manufacturers and users and sometimes there can be uncertainty, e.g. the nandrolone cases (naturally produced in the body) but Chambers' case is unequivocal. The British Olympic Committee is right to impose future olympic bans on any UK athlete testing positive for drugs- I just wish other countries would follow suit... particularly the soviet and ex-soviet bloc states which notoriously go AWOL and return.

    P.s. can't wait to see some incredible performances by Chinese athletes this year.
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