Monday, 7 August 2017

Booing Gatlin

All eyes were on Jamaica's Usain Bolt to win the 100m gold medal but he was beaten into third place by America's Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman.
Gatlin, who has served two doping bans, received boos and jeers both after winning the race and then again as he was presented with his gold medal on Sunday night.
The treatment by the crowd has received equal amounts of condemnation and approval from former athletes and Gatlin himself saying that he feels he's done his time and should be welcomed back to athletics.
Once possibly you can explain away but to be caught cheating twice and then to try and claim you shouldn't be jeered for it is a bit of a nerve.
I understand the argument that once he served his bans, he fulfilled his sentence and should be free to continue but i don't agree with it, to my mind if you are found cheating than you should be out for good.
If i was an athlete and i was slogging away for years only to be beaten by a former drug cheat i would wondering if the advantage they have over me was due to any permanent physiological changes as a result of their drug enhancements.
Are their muscles bigger, stronger or in a better condition due to a lifelong advantage after taking growth hormones or other body-changing drugs?
Nope, Gatlin for me deserves all the jeers and brickbats thrown his way.

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