UK Sport's Attitude to Anti-doping Bans

[andy_wrx]

Mark Lewis-Francis.

But I've always regarded him as immature andpetulant

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/7130257.stm

"I have two strikes. I am on the final line, I am on the wire," he said.
"My two are for being lazy. It was while the system was brand new and they should have given us a bit of leniency. I think it's a rubbish system."

- you're a professional athlete. It's a requirement of your employment. Get on with it !

"They both happened when I first moved from Birmingham to train in the south," he said.
"On the first occasion, I was living in a rented house where the doorbell didn't work.
"Then the testers called when I had left to stay in London, before last year's Crystal Palace meeting.

- yeah, the dog ate it.
It's not hard, you tell them where you'll be, you make sure you're there.
If you're not going to be, you tell them where you will be instead.

"I do not understand why they are singling us out as British athletes. We are not the biggest cheats in the world.

- so you shouldn't be tested then ? Gawd...

"Now I would never miss a drug test. I have told UK Sport that I will be at home between 7am and 8am, and if that changes I have to report every move. "You have to live with it. I feel like I am back at school and have to report to the headmaster everywhere I go. But if it keeps me on the track and means I can be an international athlete, it's worth it."

- too bloody right.
I have to tell my boss where I'll be - at my desk 9 till 5:30
Jeeez !

 

[andy_wrx]

Oh, just found this follow-up thread on 606
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A29877051

- MLF has a bad attitude and will never win anything as a result.

- The guy is a waster - remember he got done for smoking weed a couple years back - for a professional athlete you have to say what a donkey!

- After all the publicity about Christine Ohuruogu, you'd think that athletes would be a tad more careful. MLF is a waste of space, and I wouldn't bother entering him for a school egg and spoon race.

- He'd almost certainly test positive... for pies.

- Sums his career up in one word. Lazy.So nice to be right about him. A complete waste of talent.

Seems like I'm not the only one who thinks not-a-lot of him

 

[mondobongo]

Well she had a few supporters but got less than 1% of the total vote although it was annoying to see the BBC make a fuss and show a film/montage bigging her up.

Sports Personality voting:
1. Joe Calzaghe 177,748 (28.19%)
2. Lewis Hamilton 122,649 (19.45%)
3. Ricky Hatton 85,280 (13.53%)
4. James Toseland 84,570 (13.41%)
5. Jason Robinson 67,061 (10.64%)
6. Paula Radcliffe 34,895 (5.53%)
7. Jonny Wilkinson 30,302 (4.81%)
8. Andy Murray 13,242 (2.1%)
9. Justin Rose 10,227 (1.62%)
10. Christine Ohuruogu 4,481 (0.71%)
Total votes: 630,455

 

[johnr]

Does anyone on that list actually have a personality?

 

[rich p]

Does anyone on that list actually have a personality?

I take your point but they can hardly give the award to somebody who's carp at sport but quite witty down the pub!

I think it's a spurious award anyway.

 

[andygates]

Tim Don, the triathlete has also missed tests and been banned, but he too can still go to the olympics... Are missed drugs tests being classed as not as serious as positive tests?

Yes, clearly that is the case.

"He cheated" is different to "He didn't not cheat"; in the case of missed tests there seems to be plenty going on under the radar of us in the general public.