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Mark English - "If Martin Fagan really loves the sport, he shouldn’t compete again."

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    #62
    Enduro
    Registered Users Posts: 3,620 ✭✭✭Enduro


    kit3 wrote: »
    As a matter of interest - do they test everyone at an event like Turin - must be a huge undertaking ?

    Nope. I know in the previous 24hr WC in Holland there was very visible random testing (one of the Irish lads got picked). But didn't see anything in Turin. I would hope that they tested the podium finishers at least.


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    #63
    ultraman1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,742 ✭✭✭ultraman1


    Enduro wrote: »
    But didn't see anything in Turin. I would hope that they tested the podium finishers at least.
    They did,..but didnt hang around for the fun runners/joggers :)


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    #64
    TFBubendorfer
    Registered Users Posts: 6,340 ✭✭✭TFBubendorfer


    kit3 wrote: »
    As a matter of interest - do they test everyone at an event like Turin - must be a huge undertaking ?

    There was a sign pointing towards the anti-doping area and they said the day before that there would be tests. I have no idea who/if anyone/how many got tested, though.


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    #65
    ThisRegard
    Closed Accounts Posts: 27,834 ✭✭✭✭ThisRegard


    So Gatlin this evening, who knew he'd run faster when clean than when he doped.


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    #66
    eldiva
    Registered Users Posts: 227 ✭✭eldiva


    kit3 wrote: »
    Should you not be running up a hill or something youngfella ?

    I've been having nightmares of hills and waking up in a cold sweat because of it. Time to conquer them tomorrow morning


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    #67
    kit3
    Registered Users Posts: 2,677 ✭✭✭kit3


    eldiva wrote: »
    I've been having nightmares of hills and waking up in a cold sweat because of it. Time to conquer them tomorrow morning

    Reckon that'll sort you - it worked for the grand old duke of York - he trained 10,000 men on hills - just watch out as you crest that there's not an army or foot soldier about to get you


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    #68
    Chivito550
    Registered Users Posts: 7,695 ✭✭✭Chivito550


    Gatlin is something else. Not one, but two drug bans. Now 33. Runs faster than he has ever done before, including when on the juice. No remorse. Does not give a toss whatsoever.


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    #69
    average_runner
    Registered Users Posts: 12,845 ✭✭✭✭average_runner


    Chivito550 wrote: »
    Gatlin is something else. Not one, but two drug bans. Now 33. Runs faster than he has ever done before, including when on the juice. No remorse. Does not give a toss whatsoever.

    But he is not the only 30 something going faster. A lot of questions out there tonight


    Gatlin looks like Ben Johnson


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    #70
    ThebitterLemon
    Registered Users Posts: 6,621 ✭✭✭ThebitterLemon


    Chivito550 wrote: »
    Gatlin is something else. Not one, but two drug bans. Now 33. Runs faster than he has ever done before, including when on the juice. No remorse. Does not give a toss whatsoever.

    I know very little about running, especially the faster stuff, but what age would a "normal" sprinter be expected to come into his prime?

    TbL


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    #71
    Chivito550
    Registered Users Posts: 7,695 ✭✭✭Chivito550


    ThebitterLemon wrote: »
    I know very little about running, especially the faster stuff, but what age would a "normal" sprinter be expected to come into his prime?

    TbL

    I would say mid 20s. There are exceptions of course. Michael Johnson was almost 32 when he set the WR for 400m, and almost 29 when he broke the 200m WR.


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    #72
    TFBubendorfer
    Registered Users Posts: 6,340 ✭✭✭TFBubendorfer


    <mod>guys, please leave out the personal comments. Attack the post, not the poster.</mod>


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    #73
    Oregano_State
    Registered Users Posts: 2,290 ✭✭✭Oregano_State


    ThebitterLemon wrote: »
    I know very little about running, especially the faster stuff, but what age would a "normal" sprinter be expected to come into his prime?

    TbL
    Chivito550 wrote: »
    I would say mid 20s. There are exceptions of course. Michael Johnson was almost 32 when he set the WR for 400m, and almost 29 when he broke the 200m WR.

    It really depends on the individual, as well as their training and injury history.

    You can have athletes like Jeremy Wariner who peaked in his very early 20s, while Michael Johnson is at the other end of the spectrum. Athletes who peak later tend to have less 'miles on the clock', the fact that Gatlin had 4 years away from the sport in his mid-late twenties would mean his body has less accumulated wear and tear than a typical 33 year old elite sprinter, but the chances are that's not the only reason he's able to perform the way he is at the moment. Obviously there are exceptions to my 'miles on the clock' statement, but the thinking behind it is that the body can only handle a finite amount of elite-level training, and generally this manifests itself in a peak performance level somewhere between the age of 22 and 32, with a window of about 2-3 years at the top top level. Usually. IMO.

    In fairness to Gatlin though, he has been freakishly fast since he was a teenager, and would have been a world beater without PEDs IMO.

    At the moment, I look at Gatlin as a bit of a freak show, or grotesque novelty, and watch him race asking myself 'what sort of ridiculous performance is he going to pull off now?' It's been scientifically verified that physiological changes that occur during steroid use are retained indefinitely after coming off them, so him and other proven dopers should get banned for life. There's no doubt that Gatlin is a stain on the image and credibility of athletics, and it sickens me that he has been re-signed by Nike this season. The whole situation with him is an absolute mess to be honest.


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    #74
    Nermal
    Registered Users Posts: 2,614 ✭✭✭Nermal


    Are athletes tested during bans? You could get a lot done in '4 years away from the sport'...


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    #75
    walshb
    Registered Users Posts: 54,600 ✭✭✭✭walshb


    Anyone else watch Galtlin's race and not see a fast race. It was odd. Didn't really look like a fast run.

    As to prime speed/time for sprinters. I would say between 25-31/32.


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    #76
    Clearlier
    Registered Users Posts: 4,454 ✭✭✭Clearlier


    Nermal wrote: »
    Are athletes tested during bans? You could get a lot done in '4 years away from the sport'...

    Can't find it online but I believe* that unless they formally retire they remain eligible for drugs testing and if they decide to return to the sport they have to wait 6 months before competing and be available for testing during that period. One of the controversies about Armstrong's comeback from retirement was that he was permitted to race before the 6 months had elapsed.




    *This is a reasonably well informed belief but could easily be slightly wrong


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    #77
    thirstywork2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,800 ✭✭✭thirstywork2


    Good friend of mine and a former National 800m champion told me a funny story.
    He had not competed in nearly two years and had out on a good few stone in weight.He was in a hospital bed with a broken leg and arm(like something out of a movie) and a drug tester comes in.
    he said to the tester ''you are having a laugh here''

    Goes to show they do them at random although I know another girl who has have 3 in the last few months since she got back competiting.


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    #78
    walshb
    Registered Users Posts: 54,600 ✭✭✭✭walshb


    thirstywork2 wrote: »
    Good friend of mine and a former National 800m champion told me a funny story.
    He had not competed in nearly two years and had out on a good few stone in weight.He was in a hospital bed with a broken leg and arm(like something out of a movie) and a drug tester comes in.
    he said to the tester ''you are having a laugh here''

    Goes to show they do them at random although I know another girl who has have 3 in the last few months since she got back competiting.

    And he was probably out of his face on pain killers as well! Straight bloody fail.


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