Thursday, July 27, 2006

Tour de France, Landis, and doping

I am sick over the fact that Landis tested positive for illeagal substances (elevated testosterone) in his post race drug test. I'm not going to bash him yet, because he has a second test to go before we should condemn him, but I will say a few things on this topic in general.
Do athletes who dope up actually think they will get away with it? Why risk your reputation? I find it especially irritating when they KNOW what they've done, and they act all shocked that they tested positive, or that they continue to lie about it. Doping not only makes singular athletes look bad, it tarnishes the sport as a whole to some extent. You hear "Tour de France", and from now on you will remember than in 2006 the winner was American and he tested positive in a post race screening. The Tour is a prestigious sporting competition and doesn't deserve to have that connotation.
It just reminds me of the 2005 French Open when Venus Williams lost to this 15 year old, Karantecheva was her name, I think. She tested positive in a drug screen following the match, and then both she and her father came up with all these excuses, even saying that she was PREGNANT, and that is why she failed. Honestly, you don't lie about being pregnant to get out of a doping scandal, particularly when you are 15. I believe she is now undergoing a 3 year ban. So she has a good chance at a career comeback.
So shame on you Landis, if the allegations are true. I'll have a few words to say about that after the final results are given.