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Drug cheat Justin Gatlin won the 100-metre race at the Lausanne, Switzerland Diamond League meet on Thursday July 9th in the time of 9.75. His closest competitors Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay – who have also served suspension for drug cheating – finished in 9.92. The rest of the field finished in just over 10-seconds.
Gatlin’s time is tied for the 11th fastest 100-metre sprint in history. His personal best is 9.74 also run this year, at the age of 32. Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay are the only sprinters to have ever run faster. No one has run faster during the past three years.
The first four athletes have previously tested positive for performance enhancing drugs and have served suspensions. Each of them is over 30-years-of-age and all four are running as fast as they ever have this season, even while they were in their sprinting prime, several years ago.
Fourth place finisher Michael Rodgers may have a legitimate excuse for his positive drugs test as he claims to have ingested methylhexaneamine – stimulant through an energy drink.
Kim Collins ran 10.08, which is very fast considering he is 39-year-of-age.
There is now scientific evidence that proves that performance-enhancing drugs provide long-term benefits to the athletes, after no longer taking them. This may be true, however, there are some athletes that have tried to compete after serving suspensions, but couldn’t, because they were no longer fast enough. The two best-known athletes to fail in their comeback attempts are Marion Jones and Ben Johnson, two disgraced sprinters who could not compete near the same level after returning to the sport from their drugs suspensions.
There are some athletes that are able to compete after serving their suspensions. Just Gatlin is the world’s best sprinter at the moment. What does that suggest? He is possibly either benefiting from his past regimen of taking performance-enhancing drugs or is currently cheating. For these two reasons, he should have received a lifetime ban from the sport, as should have Tyson Gay, Asafa Powell and Yohan Blake and anyone else who has cheated.
If the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) or United States Track and Field (USATF) were at all serious about eradicating cheating in athletics, Gatlin and Gay would not be competing.
But the USATF and USADA apparently could care less about cheating.
In 1998, sprinter Dennis Mitchell was banned by IAAF for two years after having tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone. The USATF was entertained by his story that he tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone because he had boozed up and made love to his wife multiple times during the night. According to Mitchell, “It was her birthday, the lady deserved a treat.” The IAAF disagreed with the USATF. Mitchell later testified to the U.S. government that drug cheating coach Trevor Graham injected him with human growth hormone.
It appears that the USATF could care less that Mitchell cheated, they put him on their payroll. Currently he is a Coach at the National Training Center, which is located in Clermont, Florida. He is also a club coach with Star Athletics.
Lausanne, Diamond League meet men’s sprint made a mockery of sportsmanship and fair play as the drug cheats went 1-2-3-4 in the race. Clearly, it can pay to cheat.
Justin Gatlin 9.75 – Served drugs suspension
Asafa Powell 9.92 – Served drugs suspension
Tyson Gay 9.92 – Served drugs suspension
Michael Rodgers 10.03 – Served drugs suspension
Keston Bledman 10.03
Kim Collins 10.08
Isiah Young 10.11
Diondre Batson DNS
