Positively phony Not so Good..
TYSON GAY tested positive for anabolic steroids last summer.
‘I basically put my trust in someone and was let down,’ he explained. The former world sprint champion received a wrist-slapping, one-year suspension for the doping offence.
Justin Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic 100m champion, was banned for amphetamine use in 2001. He claimed he had been taking the substance for attention deficit disorder. In 2006, he began a four-year ban for a second drugs offence. He said: ‘I cannot account for these results, because I have never knowingly used any banned substance.’
The cruelly persecuted pair took their places on the start line in Lausanne the other evening, as Gay celebrated his return to the track. Gatlin offered Gay his best wishes before the race: ‘I’m happy he’s back,’ he said. ‘It’s how we make our money. It’s how we feed our families.’
Gay was equally effusive: ‘I was welcomed back with open arms,’ he said. ‘I’ve been under a lot of stress and stuff like that but I made it.’
Clearly, Lausanne had been designated an irony-free zone for the evening.
Gatlin won in 9.80 secs. Gay was second in 9.93. But it really didn’t matter, since the times were as phony as the people who returned them.
One day, track and field will stage an inquiry into how the most stunning sport man has invented was systematically corrupted by knaves and cheats. I look forward to the full and frank testimony of Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay. IN MARCH last year, this column drew attention to horse racing’s rather pathetic readiness to bend the knee to its sponsors.
Sometimes the result is splendidly surreal — we cited a January meeting at Lingfield which featured ‘The Dean Wilson Family Funeral Directors Handicap’. But usually it involves bookies and is therefore merely crass. We noted a race at Kempton entitled: ‘The 6 Places Eachway Grand National At BetVictor Magnolia Stakes’.
Sadly, the trend continues. Goodwood’s Stewards’ Cup, a truly historic handicap which dates back to 1840, is to be renamed after its new backer, an online casino and sportsbook operator. The Goodwood PR manager, one Lucy Humble, came up with a self-serving classic of an explanation: ‘We want to keep the heritage of racing going on for many more years,’ she said. ‘We are just trying to work with our sponsor, who wanted to change the name.’
The new sponsor apparently offered an extra £5,000, which was hastily trousered. There are many in racing who still insist that you cannot put a price on tradition. As Goodwood could tell you, they lie.