Rob's Blog

Entries Tagged as 'Sports Medicine'

Performance Enhanced Cricket

October 19th, 2006 · 1 Comment · Cricket, Sports Medicine

Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, Pakistan’s premier fast bowlers, were found recently to have the muscle building steroid Nandrolone in their system after a random drug test by the Pakistan Cricket Board. Cricket is not just a gentleman’s game anymore – it is serious business. No sport at the elite level is immune to drug controversy. This is not the first instance of drug taking in cricket, though it is probably the biggest and worst. There have been several cases of marijuana use being highlighted, though the biggest previous story concerned Shane Warne, one of the greatest players of all time, who was suspended for a year after his mum gave him a diuretic so that he could look good in front of the cameras. Let’s hope that if proven guilty that these Pakistani’s get the punishment they deserve. We don’t want the beautiful game of cricket being tainted with drugs like many other sports.

Related Pages: cricket, Shane Warne profile, doping in sports

Tags:

More Dopes

August 23rd, 2006 · No Comments · Sports Medicine, Track & Field

Does the drug nightmare for sports ever end? Track and field are having their turn at the moment. World and Olympic 100 meters champion Justin Gatlin admitted failing a drugs test in April, and has just been given an eight-year ban, though this may change over time. The world record for the 100 meters of 9.77 seconds that he shared with Asafa Powell has been taken off him. The harsh penalty follows his previous positive for an amphetamine at the 2001 US Junior Championships.

Also in the news is five-time Olympic medallist Marion Jones, who has been linked to doping in the past, and recently gave a positive result for EPO. Her second sample has yet to be tested, but her reputation must now surely be tainted.

All this in the wake of the other high profile USA athlete found to be doping, cyclist Floyd Landis, who tested positive for elevated testosterone during the Tour de France. As talked about previously, the answer to this problem of drugs in sport does not seem apparent.

Hopefully, as more high profile athletes are found to be cheating, this will deter others from doing so. What happened to the old adage of just playing fair? Maybe one day that will return. In the meantime, I hope the scientists continue to fight and catch the cheats so I can again truly enjoy watching sport.