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Usain Bolt, Lance Armstrong and the Duck Test: (Sprinters and drugs)

llien

Member
Came across curious post, I think it's worth sharing:

“When people ask me about Bolt, I say he could be the greatest athlete of all time. But for someone to run 10.03 one year and 9.69 the next, if you don’t question that in a sport that has the reputation it has right now, you’re a fool. Period.” Carl Lewis


Usain Bolt; the fastest person ever timed. 11 times world champion, 9 time gold medalist at the Olympics (the Treble Treble); the first ever man to hold both the 100m and 200m world records.

So then, not just a champion, the greatest champion in the three events he competes in the world has ever seen. That last sentence bears dwelling on — Usain Bolt has not only beaten his fellow world class athletes, he has set seemingly game-changing records in the course of becoming the best.

And yet, despite the number of fellow competitors that have received various different bans for illegal doping, Usain Bolt has remained relatively immune to both criticism and also, importantly, scrutiny. In a sport marred, bruised and almost broken by scandal, Bolt has emerged in the eyes of fans and press alike as a shining beacon of achievement, but also charm, charisma and a laid back attitude that has turned the starting blocks from a place of intense and unwavering concentration into a pre-race competition of who can appear the most relaxed and joyous.

The Duck Test
“if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck”

Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong recovered from testicular cancer to win 7 Tour De France’s between 1998 and 2005, founded a Charity that raised millions of dollars for those battling cancer and brought the sport of Cycling to millions of new fans, eager to share a part of a new American sporting hero’s journey from the edge of death to superstardom. He was the epitome of sporting courage and achievement. Oh, and he cheated. The whole time. All 7 of his Tour De France titles (and every other achievement) were stripped from him. A once-idolised athlete had nothing left of his career and sporting wins.

Bolt's Astonishing athletic achievements

S7xN67Q.png


Plot of the world records for the 100m over the last 100 years:

wtdM6tQ.png


See that blue dot way below the line on the right? That’s Bolt’s 2009 time.

And what’s the green one? Well, at the Beijing Olympics, remember that Bolt slowed massively towards the end of the race? Scientific analysis of Bolt’s run by the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Oslo, Hans Eriksen and his colleagues predicted a sub 9.60 s time had Bolt not slowed down. Considering factors such as Bolt’s position, acceleration and velocity in comparison with second-place-finisher Thompson, the team estimated that Bolt could have finished in 9.55 ± 0.04 s had he not slowed to celebrate before the finishing line. That’s potentially a 100m run in 9.51 seconds.

The trend line above shows just how almost laughably fast Bolt’s new World Record was (and how fast is could have been). Simply put, not only did Bolt break records, he broke them by unfathomable amounts when he did.

There have been scientific papers written on Bolt’s unique physique which examine how his height and stride length, combined with great technique, give him an advantage over his competitors. But remember, doping doesn’t make mere mortals into the best in the world, but it can make those with natural gifts and excellent coaching the best.

A Dirty Sport
Here’s a list of the fastest men ever recorded. An orange highlight indicates if they have even been banned from sprinting because of illegal doping:

YGmLn0F.png


In other words, of the 5 fastest men ever recorded, Bolt is the only one never to have been caught doping. Nesta Carter, number 6 on that list, is currently accused of doping in 2008. If confirmed, Bolt will be the only one of the top 6 never to have been found doping.


Fastest individual times ever run (by any sprinter):
uKpy7tN.png


Medals won by Jamaica in Olympic games:

Tq2Z6I8.png


TL;DR
  • Usain Bolt was a gifted sprinter at junior level.
  • Between 2007 and 2008, his sprinting ability improved drastically, to the consternation of pundits and experts.
  • At the same time, the competitiveness of the entire Jamaican team improved, indicated by their increase in medals at major events.
  • Bolt smashed world records and his fellow competitors by a huge margin in 2008 and 2009.
  • Of the 5 fastest men ever recorded, he is the only one never to have tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. Of the 20 top times ever recorded at the 100 metres, he’s the only athlete not to have been caught doping.
  • Sprinting has been mired in controversy and doping scandals throughout its history and into the present day.
  • Large numbers of Jamaican sprinters have been caught doping, including his training partner.
  • The coach of a number of these sprinters was the same as Bolt’s, Glen Mills.

There was quite a bit of conspiracy theory, which I've skipped. You can read entire post here: medum.com@tomnew
 
All I say is this: I know loads of people in my gym who juice for shits and giggles (looks, women). To think that people who earn a shitload of money with sports don't is outright stupid.

Also, there is just so much the human body is willing to give before it cracks naturally. Now just look at the regiments most people in professional sports have these days. It's just not possible to do this on such a level for extended periods of time without performance enhancers. For me the question is not if Bolt juices but how much and what.

Sports is full of chemicals and probably has been ever since performance enhancers have been invented.
 
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Aintitcool

Banned
Guilty. But when you're among other dopers for the same prize is it unfair? Or just what he had to do to stay competitive.
 

ruvikx

Banned
Innocent until proven guilty.

In pro sports? Nope. It would be extremely naïve to assume that. The whole sports spectacle charade is built upon the fantasies of viewers who want to imagine all these guys perform physical miracles whilst intaking nothing but water & a candy bar (breaking world records on a near yearly basis as well, i.e. fooling people into thinking there's some sort of sudden ultra rapid human evolutionary element which makes athletes go faster, longer & harder than prior competitors... merely a few years earlier).

Is Bolt virtually guaranteed to be a real doper? Of course. But like Lance Armstrong, he's also the best of his generation among a field comprised of dopers. I know we get some amateur specialists who'll claim individual physical response to drugs varies (i.e. making some athletes perform better on dope than others), but by & large it all equals out. The real question though is just how much the rich heavily backed guys have in terms of pharmaceutical advantage over the rest via being able to get the better products & doctors... & also protection from the institutions.
 

Cunth

Fingerlickin' Good!
What can you do? This is the secret that everybody knows and nobody can really talk about in sports. Some are protected, some are thrown to the sharks.
 

Tesseract

Banned
i dunno that looks more like age than anything else, although i'm sure the dude doped

all the winners dope

in every sport, all the time

even your favorite esports heroes are popping adderall like candy
 
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The article kind of goes against bolt being a doper though.

If he's training with dopers, being trained by the same coach as dopers, setting times that statistically mean he should have been caught doping, that's making a case that he's less likely to have doped because his existence is not following the trend even of those he trains with or is trained by.
 
What can you do? This is the secret that everybody knows and nobody can really talk about in sports. Some are protected, some are thrown to the sharks.

It's quite easy:
* Implement much more strict, costly, advanced, frequent doping tests in all big sports (like it is today in cycling). It should be 100% financed by the people making money out of the sports (teams, media, etc) and done by independent not for profit agencies obviously.
* Change the media narrative towards records, performance like it has been done in cycling 20 years ago, to add a healthy dose of suspicion and to talk about it as openly as possible

On a side note, I find it so unfair how every time you talk to people about cycling, they make jokes about doping, etc. but very rarely when you discuss swimming, MMA, football (soccer), running, etc.
My views of why cycling was targeted:
* Less money so less interests to protect than sports such as football
* "Cardio" doping is presumably much less prevalent in the general public than "muscular" doping so people felt less bad about themselves addressing the issue and showed less empathy towards the athletes.

When is the last time you heard a major football player suspended for doping? It's a fucking joke.
I would be willing to bet anything I have that there is today less doping in cycling than in any super popular and highly competitive sport.

And to finish I genuinely don't see any reason doping in pro sports shouldnt be tackled head on:
* It would considerably level the playing field
* More sport, less freaky science
* Healthier athletes on the long run
* Better example for easily influenceable teens, amateurs, etc.
* Doping trickles down and infiltrates all layers of the sport. As soon as you become very good as a teen, you basically have a choice: Do I cheat + take uncalculated risks with my health over the long term or do I stop doing what I love? That SUCKS
* Punishment should be enough for the athletes to be deterred but the focus shouldn't be on them, I believe they are as much victims as they are guilty. Focus should be on the whole system!!!

And on the con side: does it make a difference to the viewers if everyone runs a 100m in 10 sec or in 9.70? Gimme a break...
 

old

Member
Like Lance, I would not be surprised if he did dope. However, physically he's very tall and has a long gait. It could well be that his physique is all the advantage he needed.
 

DiscoJer

Member
But he hasn't been caught, while all these others have. Why is that? To me it's easier to believe he really is that fast, than he has some sort of stealth doping technology that keeps him from being detected, while people in his same circle get caught.
 
to me its fucking irrelevant. let them do drugs. they are all on peds but peds doesnt teach you fucking skill and natural ability and genetics. thats one thing people forget. they are all on peds and the top guys would be the top guys with or without it
 

Xiaoki

Member
For years it was deemed by experts and sports writers that the sub-4 minute mile was impossible.

Then in 1954 Roger Bannister was the first person to break that record.

In 1957 one of those sports writers accused Roger Bannister of cheating by doping.

No surprise that more than 60 years later people are still resorting to accusing athletes of cheating and doping when they achieve something they deem "impossible".
 

Makariel

Member
In pro sports? Nope.
Yes, in every walk of life. If you want to accuse anyone of something like cheating their way to the top of their profession you better bring some actual proof or stfu, imo.

If there's proof found he did cheat then by all means nail him to the nearest cross, but not beforehand.

Nobody's saying he's guilty, [...]
Nobody you say? :messenger_smirking:
[...] although i'm sure the dude doped

all the winners dope [...]
Guilty. But when you're among other dopers for the same prize is it unfair? Or just what he had to do to stay competitive.
 

Airola

Member
Maybe in future when pretty much everyone uses some doping the sport events will be about the laboratories openly competing for who's makes the best drugs. When the future Bolt makes a new record it won't be him who gets the medal, it's the laboratory.
 
No surprise that more than 60 years later people are still resorting to accusing athletes of cheating and doping when they achieve something they deem "impossible".

lmao. you are probably someone that thinks professional sports is clean. as time moves on people do find ways of getting the best out of people in terms of food fitness exercise. the average guy is better than he was in the past no doubt but peds helps and there is no denying that. the sooner you come to terms that peds have been in the shadows probably behind most of every single major sporting evet the more you can be at peace. im sorry i had to be the one to break it to you
 
At this point pro athletics is like pro bodybuilding. Everybody juices to reach and maintain those levels. It's just that pro bodybuilding has recognized that. Athletics and other sports organizations are still in denial.
 

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
Are we sure it isn't small changes of conditions and equipment?

 

Cybrwzrd

Banned
My personal opinion is that juicing should be legal. Push humanity to the limits and keep breaking those limits. An average sprinter on PEDs isn't going to become a superstar. Same with any sport. The drugs just make a highly gifted individual reach their potential. I look at it like plastic surgery in entertainment.
 
My personal opinion is that juicing should be legal. Push humanity to the limits and keep breaking those limits. An average sprinter on PEDs isn't going to become a superstar. Same with any sport. The drugs just make a highly gifted individual reach their potential. I look at it like plastic surgery in entertainment.


our potential is to become cat people
 
I mean, if he's doping, isn't he doping as much as the guys he's crushing in competition? I imagine his team of scientists who push the boundaries of banned substances are not THAT much better than his competition's.

I think Bolt's height has a larger relative effect than whatever he's taking.
 

Kenpachii

Member
My personal opinion is that juicing should be legal. Push humanity to the limits and keep breaking those limits. An average sprinter on PEDs isn't going to become a superstar. Same with any sport. The drugs just make a highly gifted individual reach their potential. I look at it like plastic surgery in entertainment.


The problem with this is that you will see a lot of athletes drop death on the play field.
 

Cybrwzrd

Banned
The problem with this is that you will see a lot of athletes drop death on the play field.

Meh, that is mostly a myth. PEDs are not really all that dangerous these days. The tech advanced with the widespread use. I mean, hell any man diagnosed with low testosterone gets placed on them these days for health benefits.

Yeah, I'm sure if you use them under the table bought from some muscle gym dealer and don't follow proper protocols, you can have problems. But, at the top end of the competitive spectrum? Their cycles are perfectly timed to their training regimen.
 

womfalcs3

Banned
Technology is already giving athletes the edge, as shown by the TED talk below. If you're going to allow new technology to help athletes over time, why not PEDs?

 
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