[Jxmwzgpv]

Mathman is right though. The only people who believe Olympic athletes are natural (not injecting steroids) are people who believed in Santa Claus until adulthood.

And what is this "sport" -- speed walking?

[Voitramma]

Olympia, I just bled for poor Shirley Babashoff in 1976...there were also commentators who criticized her by saying she was not fit enough, and that is why she finished 2nd to the Germans.

The article linked had this

The women of ‘76 had their one ounce of revenge. A huge statement with a Hollywood ending that is still not put to film! There is definitely a movie waiting to be made there.

[TopcigsCOM]

It would be an unusual sports film, because the team you root for wouldn't win. But it could be very powerful with someone who knew how to shape the narrative.

I loved that Rowdy Gaines apologized for misjudging her.

Did you notice the list of medalists in one of the links? They listed in red who would be the three medalists in each event if the East Germans were taken out of the mix and the records changed. It wasn't just Babashoff, though she would have won quite a clutch of medals. There were Canadians, Aussies, Dutch, and a few other Americans.

My gosh, they took away Rick DeMont's gold medal in 1972 because he took some asthma medication--clearly unintentional. Right then and there, in Munich they stripped him of the gold. Then they forbade him to swim in any of the other events. But this purposeful, planned, team-wide scheme goes uncorrected.

[Gorlummm]

Carolina made up her mind of competing very late in July. As consequence she isn't ready with her programs and late in training. She took her time to made the decision and decided not to participate to the GP this season and start competing at Italian Nationals and focus on Euros and Worlds, nothing strange about that.

[xFZ3k8Mw]

Carolina made up her mind of competing very late in July. As consequence she isn't ready with her programs and late in training. She took her time to made the decision and decided not to participate to the GP this season and start competing at Italian Nationals and focus on Euros and Worlds, nothing strange about that.

I didn't find article with this information in English.
Original text is in Italian http://www.wintersport-news.it/8389,News.html
In Russian http://rsport.ru/figure_skating/20120808/609008649.html

[MadMark]

I don't feel comfortable inferring anything about Carolina from this event. The fact that she isn't going to be in the GP can be totally unrelated to what her boyfriend did. It's amazing what people can keep from each other in a relationship--and this isn't exactly a twenty-year marriage.

[compiit]

1. Racewalking IS very much a sport. It is 30 miles of walking in 3 hours. Very few people can run ten miles in an hour, let alone WALK it.

2. Schwazer states that he hid his drug use from Caro- http://www.ajc.com/sports/italys-sch...e-1493887.html

3. It actually sounds like he was clean in Beijing. He sounds like he fell to the pressure of having to defend. Guy wanted to retire at the pinnacle.

[denSmumbSes]

1. Racewalking IS very much a sport. It is 30 miles of walking in 3 hours. Very few people can run ten miles in an hour, let alone WALK it.

2. Schwazer states that he hid his drug use from Caro- http://www.ajc.com/sports/italys-sch...e-1493887.html

3. It actually sounds like he was clean in Beijing. He sounds like he fell to the pressure of having to defend. Guy wanted to retire at the pinnacle.

thanks for sharing this articel. it explains everything to me in a quite reasonable way. I actually kind of feel sorry for that guy and much more for carolina.

[pharmacologist30]

1. Racewalking IS very much a sport. It is 30 miles of walking in 3 hours. Very few people can run ten miles in an hour, let alone WALK it.

2. Schwazer states that he hid his drug use from Caro- http://www.ajc.com/sports/italys-sch...e-1493887.html

3. It actually sounds like he was clean in Beijing. He sounds like he fell to the pressure of having to defend. Guy wanted to retire at the pinnacle.

Normally when someone tests positive for doping they go through a period of excuse making and blaming others before admitting any wrong-doing (if they ever admit it). Schwazer didn't even go through that - he seems to have jumped directly to the miserable and guilt-ridden stage that many dopers never even arrive at. I'm not sure what that says about him, but he seems so consumed with guilt, not just sorry that he was caught.

Possibly the saddest thing in this article is how he and Carolina feel about their respective sports:
Carolina loves her sport. She skates because she likes it. I race walk because I'm good at it, but I don't like doing the same exact thing 35 hours a week, and sometimes at night when I'm shattered and thinking about getting up the next morning and doing it again, I get nauseous"* Considering all the sacrifices an athlete must make, I think you have to love what you do, and if he didn't, that's a recipe for misery and self-doubt. That Carolina, despite all her difficulties over the years, continues to be passionate about skating is really great; if she hadn't been, we would have missed out on some amazing performances by her.

I don't know, maybe Schwazer is playing the media with all this. But if he isn't, I kind of feel sorry for the guy. He's destroyed his career and reputation and he knows it's all on him. The whole thing just makes me sad.

* there's a slightly different quote in the AJC article.

[Lyikmcmb]

You can hide a lot of things from your partner If you want to

I don't feel sorry for anyone cheating. Wish there was a life long penalty for doping. It's so selfish. I feel sorry for the athletes that are clean.

This is how the Irish walker Hefferman sees it.

[JAMES PIETERSE]

I don't feel sorry for anyone cheating. Wish there was a life long penalty for doping. It's so selfish. I feel sorry for the athletes that are clean.

This is how the Irish walker Hefferman sees it.

You'd think doping was worse than most criminal behaviors, to see the way people react to positive tests and confessions. Yes, I do feel sorry for Schwazer, because he wrecked his career (he's already said he won't compete again) and his reputation and he'll have to live with that for the rest of his life. Do you think knowing that he did that to himself makes it somehow better for him? Though he sounds like he probably had some serious issues with his career and dealing with pressure, so maybe it's for the best that he won't return.

I've seen Hefferman's statement, and I can't say I'm impressed. Rejoicing in the downfall of a competitor, even if it is self-inflicted and due to something like this, is so not classy. Of course it's not the same as doping, but you know what, I don't consider it good sportsmanship, either. I'd rather see someone say, I'm competing clean and anyone who can't do that shouldn't be competing, or see an expression of disappointment or anger about it. But gloating, no, I can't get behind that. So there are now any number of clean athletes I'd rather see on the podium.

[jokilewqs]

I don't mean they should go to jail or anything, just not being allowed to compete anymore once they were caught. As example I don't like that OG bronze medalist Justin Gatlin is back after testing positive for testosterone in 2006.

I don't know about Heffner, he could be cheating too, who knows. But if he is clean he has the right to be angry and gloat IMO.

I just can't find any excuses for athletes that are using dope. If they are not happy with what they are doing, do something else. Sportsmen and -women are privileged in this world.

Schwazer didn't just wreck his own reputation. He also messed with his girlfriend's reputation. I hope Carolina loves him enough to forgive him and that they can get on with their lives in a better way.

[Numbiydq]

Schwazer didn't just wreck his own reputation. He also messed with his girlfriend's reputation. I hope Carolina loves him enough to forgive him and that they can get on with their lives in a better way.

The way he describes what happened, it sounds like he had some underlying psychological issues and was practically trying to self-destruct. If the story he's telling is true, he must have known there was a very high chance of getting caught. Sometimes people do stupid, reckless things instead of coping in a healthy/rational way.

From the media coverage, it seems like Carolina is disappointed and hurt, but also supportive and concerned with his well-being. If that's true, then he's a lucky guy.

[pprropeciaaa]

My heart breaks for both of them, but more so for Carolina. Remember, for many years, most of us thought of Carolina as fragile. This past year, she emerged as a strong competitor. Alex getting caught isn't helping matters. I hope Carolina is strong enough for her sake, because it sounds like she will have to be strong enough for two people.

[ethigSmimbine]

Agreed. What a miserable turn of events.

[oliverlogo]

1. Racewalking IS very much a sport. It is 30 miles of walking in 3 hours. Very few people can run ten miles in an hour, let alone WALK it.

What? Are ... are you serious? A 6 or 7 minute mile is an average pace for a male. You could go to any high school, pick out a varsity cross country runner, and they'd match that pace. Certainly not for 50 km, but you shouldn't act like 10 mph is an amazing-tier speed.

[pharmacologist30]

A 6 or 7 minute mile is an average pace for a male. You could go to any high school, pick out a varsity cross country runner, and they'd match that pace. Certainly not for 50 km, but you shouldn't act like 10 mph is an amazing-tier speed.

Are you serious? Blue dog said very few people. For one, varsity cross country runners are not most people, as they train regularly and are young and fit. The average person who does not train for running usually isn't nearly as fit, and even people who do train regularly and are in good shape may not be good at distance running, or naturally talented when it comes to running/walking. So yes, looking at the population in general, and even at the population of athletes, most people can't do 9 miles an hour, and a lot probably can't do nine miles of running in any time frame. In addition, your example is irrelevant, because cross-country events generally don't include distances anywhere near 50k unless it's ultra stuff; the longest distance at Cross Country Worlds is, what, 12K? So what's the distance someone would do in high school, 8k? Six? It's not comparable. Race walkers don't stop at 6 or 8 or 12k, and the pace Schwazer kept in Beijing was very fast. His time was an OR; if he did that clean, that's impressive. Remember that race walkers are not allowed to have both feet off the ground at any time.

The one correction I would like to make to Blue dog's post is that it's not 50k in three hours - the world record is 3:34. But that is still very fast. Sure, it's not as fast as a winning marathon pace. But think of it like swimming: you have different styles of crossing the same distance, and just because breaststroke takes longer than freestyle doesn't make it easy.

[ugosanchezo]

What? Are ... are you serious? A 6 or 7 minute mile is an average pace for a male. You could go to any high school, pick out a varsity cross country runner, and they'd match that pace. Certainly not for 50 km, but you shouldn't act like 10 mph is an amazing-tier speed.

maybe you think it is easy to run at that pace, but running is prohibited in racewalking. racewalkers can get disqualified from a race if the amount of contact between their feet and the track is deemed too little to be considered a walk. it takes a lot of finesse to train a perfect fast walking stride, and a lot of concentration to maintain that focus for over 3 hours.

[serius_06]

Wikipedia:

What? Are ... are you serious? A 6 or 7 minute mile is an average pace for a male. You could go to any high school, pick out a varsity cross country runner, and they'd match that pace. Certainly not for 50 km, but you shouldn't act like 10 mph is an amazing-tier speed.

A 6.5 minute mile is almost 15 Km/h which would really put the OR to shame. Average pace for a male? The male of a different species or a different human race from another planet perhaps?

[Wdlglivi]

Wikipedia:



10,000M, OR = 27:01.17 -> 22.206Km/h

Marathon - 42.195 Km, OR = 2:06:32 -> 20Km/h

Walking - 50Km (31.07 miles), OR = 3:37:09 -> 13.815 Km/h

The walking event is much faster paced than most people can run/jog, especially over the distance of 50Km. The difference between walking and running is that a walker must maintain at least one foot on the ground at all times. Violation of this rule is the most common reason for disqualification.



A 6.5 minute mile is almost 15 Km/h which would really put the OR to shame. Average pace for a male? The male of a different species or a different human race from another planet perhaps?

These results are incredible, and they show the human performance limitations.(I don't know whether this is the right English term.)

Marathon - 42,195 miles, OR = 2:06:32 -> 20Km / h - on average 42x 1km / 3 minutes
10.000 M, OR = 27:01.17 -> 22.206Km/h- on average 10X1km / 2.7 minutes
Walking - 50km (31.7 miles), OR = 3:37:09 -> 13 815 km / h on average 50X 1km / 4.34 minutes

Am I right? Incredible!!