Run to Win

In 1998, Jerome Young, Antonio Pettigrew, Tyree Washington and Michael Johnson set the American 4×400m record with a time of 2:54.20. That record is in discussions to be removed, with the 2:54.29 that was run in the 1993 World Outdoor Championships getting reinstated. Young was banned for life in 2004, and Pettigrew has recently admitted to doping as far back as 1997.

“Removing this record is the right thing to do, pure and simple,” USATF CEO Doug Logan said. “We have no interest in a record that the facts - not rumors - have exposed as being achieved by fraudulent means by at least one athlete on the team. Obviously, Tyree Washington and Michael Johnson played no part in the doping activities of others, and it is a shame that they may suffer as a result. But our message is clear: compete clean, win clean and break records clean. Or, get out of our sport and out of our record books.”

I hope that the record is removed, and I hope that athletes are taking notice. I am sure that Michael Johnson would agree; he has already returned a gold medal from the 2000 Olympics that he had won on a different team with Pettigrew. Michael Johnson will still own the American record, since he was also on the 1993 team. The real victim here is Tyree Washington.

(More Info: USATF)

Marion Jones

USATF CEO Douglas Logan has written an open letter to President Bush urging him not to pardon Marion Jones for her illegal and unethical activities over the past decade.

I can not agree with him more and I plan on writing to the white house with my thoughts on the matter. Marion Jones broke the law, she cheated in her profession, and she lied about both for years.

There should be no double standards for athletes when compared to average citizens of the United States, and pardoning Jones will make us laughing stocks in the international track community. If you think that cycling as a sport gets a bad rap, wait until the United States takes a lenient stance against an admitted doper that broke multiple US laws including involvement in bank fraud.

Pardoning her sends the wrong message, and I think that she should take responsibility for the choices that she has made.

If you would like to send a letter to the White House, you can address it to the following address:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

If you would like to call the White House to voice your concerns, you can dial 202-456-1111 (or 202-456-6213 for TTY service.) To send a fax, dial 202-456-2461.

If you would like to send an email, address it to: comments@whitehouse.gov

The USATF has provided a sample email/letter that you can use when communicating with the White House about your thoughts on offering Marion Jones a pardon:
http://www.usatf.org/promotions/MarionJones/

Click through to read the rest of this entry for Douglas Logan’s open letter to the President.
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• This week last year, I offered some advice on what to wear to a race to prevent “severing your leg at the thigh” from chafing.
• I tried to decide if it was worth running in an ultramarathon a few weeks before my next marathon. Ultimately, I decided that yes, it was a good idea.
• I shared what I learned about velomobiles after attending a Bike Commuters’ Meetup. They look like fun toys.
• On the news front, Oscar Pistorius had some troubles after running out of his lane and getting persecuted by the IAAF. There also came down the first cyclists to get charged with doping after signing the UCI charter. The Yarmouth Clam Festival had 917 finishers and went off without any problems last year
• This week two years ago, I continued my series on icing with a description of how to ice w/an ice bag. and shared my thoughts on why you should not use weightlifting gloves or belts when you work out. I shared why it was important to determine how much you should be sleeping every night. One of my more popular articles over the past couple of years explained the differences between running on a track versus running on a treadmill.
• This week two years ago, there was some trouble in the UK with cyclists getting pushed off of their bikes by passing motorists. Three years ago was even worse, when an 88 year old hit some cyclists after ignoring the police who were controlling traffic at the Clam Festival. (Along with a 5 mile run, there is a bike race.) In Germany, a 16 year old killed one of Australia’s top cyclists when she drove into the whole team while they were training.

Track coach Trevor Graham has been banned for life from any competition sanctioned by USATF, IAAF, or the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Graham is the person that broke open the BALCO scandal by mailing a syringe of “the clear” to USADA. Numerous athletes that he has coached have been caught doping or have admitted to doping in the past, and all claim that they got their drugs from Graham. He has been convicted in a federal court and is still awaiting sentencing.

“There has been a belief out there that coaches, doctors and other people who support athletes were somehow outside the long arm of the rules,” USADA CEO Travis Tygart said in a phone interview. “This is a strong reminder that they’re not, and that we’ll use our authority to hold coaches accountable if they assist and aid athletes in doping.”

Graham has been operating under a temporary ban for the past couple of years, but I can not imagine any athlete wanting to work with him even had he not received a lifetime ban. There have been numerous race organizations, especially in Europe, that have refused to allow athletes coached by him into their events for the past few years.

Hopefully this sets a good precedent for following the rules and competing cleanly, both from an athlete perspective and from their coaches and trainers.

(More Info: USATF - ESPN)

Liliana Popescu is one of the fastest 1500m runners in the world this year, clocking 4:00.35 at at a grand prix meet in Bucharest a few days before the indoor world championships. Unfortunately, she is probably not going to be able to display her talents on the world stage.

Romania does not want to break any anti-doping rules, so they are actively banning any athlete from competing who may test positive. Liliana has reportedly tested positive to an undisclosed substance with her “A” sample, although there is not yet any results available for her “B” sample so she hasn’t actually been caught cheating yet.

I hope that her second sample comes back clean and that it was all a mistake, but if she is dirty then Romania is setting a good example. Romanian Athletes who test positive at the Olympic Games will be subjected to an estimated $156,000 fine (100,000 euros.)

(More Info: Reuters - Photo Credit: Bănăţeanul)

This week last year saw a varied range of topics on the site with a good mix of tips and news.

• I began the week by looking at dancing as an alternative exercise. Unfortunately for my wife and I, we haven’t been out dancing too often since she went to law school.
• The UCI came out with an anti-doping charter, and I felt that cyclists would be foolish to sign it. On the surface, anything to discourage doping is a good thing. I just felt that this particular measure took away too many of the athlete’s rights.
• In running news, the IAAF changed their stance on Oscar Pistorius so that he could compete until they decided if he had an advantage or not.
• On the track and in a headwind, Tyson Gay ran the 2^nd fastest all-time 200m race in 19.62 seconds, about 3-tenths of a second behind the 1996 mark set by Michael Johnson.
• I reviewed Trails.com and put together a video demonstration of what you get with the website.
• This week 2 years ago, I suggested that you never go to bed hungry. During the Western States 100 (which was unfortunately canceled this year), Brian Morrison was disqualified for receiving some help from the crowd near the end. I also discussed research about whether or not bonking during training was a worthwhile pursuit or not. Two years ago was centered on marathoning, such as a book review and a website review, my list of marathon candidates for Autumn, and my discovery that I was near meeting the requirements to join the 50 States Marathon Club. I also won the Literacy 5k, which I believe has since folded.

Two weeks ago, Justin Gatlin’s appeal was rejected and his original doping offense for being on ADHD medication was upheld. At the time, I stated that the matter was settled now and that he had to wait until 2010 to return.

According to U.S. District Judge Lacey A. Collier, I was wrong. He has filed a restraining order that should allow Gatlin to compete in the Olympic Trials and attempt to earn himself a seat on the plane to Beijing. He feels that the original doping offense violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and that it should be disregarded.

There are two problems with this as I see it, though.
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American athletes have been subject to drug testing when competing in international competition for years, but have not been subject to it domestically on any but the smallest scale. That is about to change in the coming years for the Intermediate (15-16 years old) and Young Men/Woman (17-18) divisions.

Starting in 2008, all youth championship races are going to have in-person drug education for the kids so that they know what the process involves and why they should avoid performance enhancing drugs. The idea is to instill a lifelong habit of fairplay by teaching them at a younger age to compete ethically and in such a way as to avoid the health risks of doping.

Beginning in 2009, there will be in-competition drug testing at all of the youth competitions.

I think that this is a great move. I believe that the younger generations coming up are already better educated than the previous generation, and I think that all of the recent doping scandals are bringing to light the fact that even if you get away with something in the short term you still stand to lose everything you have accomplished if you are discovered in the long term. This initiative should further reinforce that trend, and any children that are caught doping will have more of an opportunity to clean up and still have a competitive career.

(More Info: USATF)