posted Sep 28, 2008

FlyingHurdler - I normally agree with you, but think you're being a bit harsh on the JAM girls - VCB has been running 10.8s for the last few years, Kerron has improved year-on-year. It's only Shelly-Ann that has dropped - and by half a second, not 1-2! It's a quick rise, but she's quite young, so within the bounds of others who are regularly tested OOC

I think it's time to give the benefit of the doubt until we know for sure...

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posted Sep 28, 2008

FlyingHurdler, when i say undetectable, its because it doping regulators can't pick up on it. even if their eyes are totally red and they are totally juiced up to their eyeballs and pumped up veins, this is not enough. if the test is negative then there is nothing they can do.

im sure there have been male olympic champions who have been doping and got away withit as testingwas a bit behind and there are always people trying to make money by beating the system and designing new drugs that can't be traced.

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posted Sep 28, 2008

Some records last longer than others. Beamon's long jump record lasted 23 years. Nobody accused him of doping in 1968. Paula's marathon record, which by the way was a huge 4:21 faster than the previous record (the equivalent of around 0.32-0.33 seconds in a women's 100M - Oh, and Griffin-Joyner only beat the existing record by 0.27 seconds in 1988), will also last a long time. No one is accusing her of doping. I have no doubt that the Jamaican women sprinters are tremendous athletes and maybe in time, one of them will hold the world record in the 100M. But not if they continue to believe it is unattainable.

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posted Sep 29, 2008

Westhamowen

What I mean is, it is going to be very hard to be able to manufacture a substance that has such a dramatic effect that will be able to remain undetectable. Anything that has such a huge effect on physiology will raise hormones and the working of the body to hugely abnormal levels and therefore be easily picked up on. Bulging eyes and veins would not happen unless normal human hormones etc were at abnormally high levels and therefore way outside "acceptable" testing levels as it's not just subtances that are tested for

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posted Sep 29, 2008

Granada, there is a big difference between Paula Radcliffe's performance in the marathon and Flo-Jo's physical transformation from skinny pretty girl, to huge, bulked-up, deep-voiced brute....

Here's an exceprt from the BBC story, that should put things into context:

"Perhaps the most suspicious, and iconic, of those records is Griffith-Joyner's 10.49 for the 100m.

The American smashed the previous mark by a staggering 0.27 seconds in the quarter-finals of the US Olympic Trials in 1988. It was also a half-second faster than she had ever run prior to that season, and it came after a three-year break from the sport.

Aged 28 at the time, she would quit athletics two months later, shortly before the introduction of out-of-competition drug testing. Ten years later - the 10th anniversary was on Sunday - "Flo-Jo" died when she suffocated in her sleep following a brain seizure.

Her tragically early death fuelled the rumours of doping - rumours that have never been substantiated and have always been denied by her family and friends.

But there was another suspicious element to her remarkable 100m time, the long-held belief a faulty wind-meter failed to record a strong tailwind that would have ruled out her time.

Despite showing a helping wind of more than three metres per second for the rest of the day - a metre more per second than the legal limit - the anemometer recorded a wind of 0.0 m/s for Flo-Jo's race."

1) The record came after a suspicious three-year break from the sport.

2) She conveniently quite athletics two months after breaking the records, and before proper drug-testing came into place.

3) Her death occurred under questionable circumstances.

4) And even the clock had questions surrounding it.

All in all, it's not a record to celebrate, but one to be viewed with suspicion. That's why I believe it should be scrapped....

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posted Sep 29, 2008

Well, I agree with Campbell-Brown.

It is time for the majority of the womens world records to be reset.
It is interesting to note that on the track between the distances of 100 to 1500 metres only the Kenyan Athlete Jelimo has been close to the 800m World Record being approximately 1 second outside Kartochvila's WR. I am certain that she will take that mark in the coming year.

As for the rest scrap them especially those in the sprints. With exception to the Womens 400m hurdles held by Pechonicka (sorry spelt name wrong).

The consideration is this. Koch is almost a second faster that Perec. Perec was a truly great Athlete and second in 400m is a mile in the marathonand at her best she would have beaten Koch hands down.

The closest athlete to Flo-Jo's marks was Marion Jones. Need I say more!!!

Donchova's WR in the hurdles I cannot think of any who has got within .3 of her except possilby Devers of the US.

Yes, it is time to scrap these World Records and start again.

In fact I would like the IAAF to organise a womens only event to start the process. This event would see all WR begin.

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posted Sep 29, 2008

What about all the other women who have ran very fast but not quite the WR over the last decade or so. Their times would still be in the books because you can't get rid of them.
If you start the records afresh the person who holds the new..new WR will only be the best in the world from that day onwards. It will be completely devalued getting home from the track knowing that you are the WR holder but really only the fastest women since earlier that evening. In reality lots of women have run faster than you prior that race but they were before the "Big WR Wipe". (I hope that makes sense). Who wants to hold that record?

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posted Sep 29, 2008

Also i think if you set a time and date for the wiping of the record you will have every women runner in the world trying to get a race as soon as possible after it, in the attempt to be the world record holder even if only for a few seconds, that could make for great entertainment

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posted Sep 29, 2008

We can at least prevent future Flo-Jo's. What the dope testers should now do is freeze in liquid nitrogen every sample of a medal winner or record breaker so that it can be re-thawed at a time in the future when new testing protocols come into place. Athletes should have to sign a contract accepting that if their sample EVER shows a positive at any time during their lifetime then they will have to repay all prize money, spoinsorship and endorsements.

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