Thursday 18 July 2013

Athletics and Cycling - Fighting the sceptics

When you think about drug taking in sport for many people athletics and cycling are the two sports they immediately think of.

Both sports are facing up to the doping questions again this week but for different reasons.

As an athletics fan I was gutted to hear that both Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell both tested positive for taking banned substances. This is the last thing athletics needs especially when it involves two of its biggest stars.

In cycling, Britain's Chris Froome is favourite to win this year's Tour de France following a series of impressive performances.

Despite no evidence of him actually taking drugs, there's an air of suspicion hanging over him. Rather than celebrate his lead in the Tour he's having to defend himself against accusations that his performances so far have been too good!

I love athletics and I'm increasingly becoming a great fan of cycling, but it seems both sports will never be able to rid themselves from the question of drugs.

You could argue both sports have only themselves to blame due to the actions of former athletes. A healthy dose of scepticism is for many the only way to watch these sports.

It's a shame as I find both athletics and cycling compelling sports to watch, there's a simplicity to both sports which I love.

It does make you wonder whether there's any point in actually winning anymore as people will immediately starting asking questions over whether you're cheating or not. It's almost as if you can win but not too well as it only give the sceptics something to talk about.



No comments:

Post a Comment