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What happened to the days when the Olympics were a symbol of international goodwill, purity and everything that was right with the world? The 2008 Olympic Games are barely underway in Beijing, and there are already an extraordinary amount of doping scandals. There have been a slew of suspensions and bans, the Chinese are under suspicion of having more than a home-pool advantage, and the Russians have been accused of antire doping PROGRAM.Time Out Magazine, rain and SLR cameras aren't the only things banned in Beijing.
Here's a list of just some of the athletes who have been banned from competing in Beijing, after testing positive for doping, before or during the games:
Ouyang Kunpeng, Swimming (China)
Anastasia Fatina and Anastasia Karabelshchikova, Rowing (Russia)
Riis Anderson, Cycling (Denmark)
Wang Hongni, Triathlete (China)
Riccardo Ricco, Cycling (Italy)
Tassos Gousis, Sprinter (Greece)
Svetlana Cherkasova, 800 meter (Russia)
Yulia Fomenko, 1500 meter (Russia)
Yelena Soboleva, 800 and 1500 meters, (Russia)
Tatyana Tomashova 1500 (Russia)
Olga Yegorova, 1500 and 5000 (Russia)
Gulfiya Khanafeyeva, Hammer Throw (Russia)
Darya Pishchalnikova, Discus (Russia)
[Here's a link to an article about all 7 of the above Russians]
Jessica Hardy, Swimmer (USA) - 2 August
Elena Antoci, 1500 meters (Romania)
Cristina Vasiloiu, 1500 meters (Romania)
Ioannis Drymonakos, Swimmer (Greece)
Roman Usov, Steeplechaser (Russia)
Lada Chernova, Javelin Throw (Russia)
Vladimir Kanaykin, Race Walker (Russia) (slide #3)
Valeri Borchin, Race Walker (Russia) (slide #4)
Alexei Voyevodin, 50km (Russia)
The latest rumors are surrounding various Chinese swimmers, who placed much higher in the 4X100 relay than expected. The Chinese team was ranked 39th in the world coming into the event, but will enter the finals as the #1 seed, after posting the best time in the qualifying heats. Is this a case of sour grapes, and merely an attempt by the American media to cast doubt on an inspirational performance by the Chinese? Doubtful. More than 30 Chinese swimmers failed drug tests in the 1990's, and the Chinese haven't been legitimate #1 contenders in swimming in recent years, so there's definitely something fishy about this first-place finish.
Doug Logan, CEO of USA Track and Field, has been vocal against all dopers. His message for anyone who has tainted the sport: GET OUT!
The doping scandals have already cast a dark cloud over rain-free Beijing, and hopefully the rest of the games will go well, and there will be minimal further scandals. But no matter what, something needs to be done. The innocence and purity of sports is nearly extinct, and it will take more effort from athletes to clean up what is left of their good name.
[Beijing Doping Stories Timeline]
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