What should a guy like Pickering do?

[white lightning]

Ok guys. I have a serious question to ask. Would you guys want a sprinter like Pickering to do peds if you knew he could run in the 9.7 - 9.8 range? If he could run this fast on roids, would you guys say he should or should not take them? First the chance of getting caught. Second, he would be giving in to cheating in order to compete with the majority of sprinters who are on various things. I would rather have him stay clean but I'm curious if you guys think more white sprinters should just go for it and take a chance. I'm interested in the response on this. Edited by: white lightning

 

[Riddlewire]

It wouldn't work.
Firstly, the entire sports media world would stop everything else they're doing and devote 100% of their time and resources to 1.Discovering his connection to PEDs and 2.Destroying his reputation.
Secondly, if PEDs would enable him to drop to 9.7-9.8, that would be too much of an improvement. He would be an obvious cheat (because he's white. black runners can naturally improve their times by seconds at will, don't ya know?). Even if no one could turn up any evidence linking him to drugs, he would be found guilty by public opinion.
There's just nothing to gain.

Addendum: There is one extremely unlikely positive. If he was able to get on some super juice and set a world record of, say... 9.54, then it would be worth doing if his usage could never be discovered. In such a situation, the record would have to remain on the books, even if everyone KNEW he was cheating. It would be a perpetual stick-in-the-eye to all the black sprinters. He would be our very own Sotomayor.

Edited by: Riddlewire

 

[albinosprint]

I with riddlewire on this one.

 

[GiovaniMarcon]

It's fun and interesting to engage in hypotheticals, and I too think things would turn out as Riddlewire laid out, but also I believe that pondering whether or not Craig Pickering should cheat if he wouldn't get caught is a lot like fantasizing "would I keep a bag of money that fell off an armored truck?" Of course a few people think he should cheat, just as a few people would keep the money. But I think the strength of most people's character (and I'm theorizing here, but I dare say the strength of most WHITE people's character) will prevent them from wanting Craig to cheat, will prevent Craig from wanting to cheat himself, will prevent us from taking money that we know we didn't earn, and isn't ours.

I am a million times prouder of Craig's honest 10.16 than I will ever be of a cheating drug abuser's sub 10. If Bolt is clean, then good for him, but if he's not -- despite his new wealth and fame, I'd pity him, and I'll assume a lot of white people would pity him, too, even if they won't say it.

There's more to being a sportsman than will ever appear in a record book that contains only absolute times and the like. I think Craig is a fantastic sportsman, and aside from doing as he is -- honestly working hard to get faster the clean way -- he doesn't have to change a thing.

And whether he stagnates at his current personal best or dips under 10 seconds at his chosen event, I count him a success.

And that's the general difference between black and white, in my opinion.

 

[Alpha Male]

Craig does. He was interviwedand is not shy to express his disdain for any sprinter using drugs. I don't think Craig would express such indignation, knowing full well the hypocrisy of doing so.

 

[white is right]

Nobody truly suspects Craig is on steroids. His times don't indicate it. He was a 10.2 sprinter at 18 and has gotten down to 10.1, 3 years later. That doesn't indicate steroid usage. He would come off as total idiot if he were popped for steroid usage. From what I remember stars such as Johnson, Montgomery and Gatlin have never been adamant about being clean. They would say they were clean and then go on to other questions. Charlie Francis barked like a guard dog whenever the subject was broached.

 

[white lightning]

On top of that, the testing in England is considered by most to be the toughest in the world. If you get caugt, it is an automatic lifetime ban from the olympic games. Ask Dwain Chambers about that. Guys like Linford Christie, Chambers and others will still try to cheat but get the harshest punishment anywhere when caught. Chambers will never live his olympic dream and neither will any UK Sprinter caught using peds. I wish more countries would get tough because you have to hit the cheats alot harder than the current punishment. I am 99% sure that Craig is clean along with his former training partner, Jason Gardner.

 

[Guest]

Unfortunately it is not as strict as that, wl. A "British" sprinter won the 400 meters in Beijing, despite having been subject to a lifetime ban from Olympic competition for missing 3 drug tests. She appealed the ban and it was overturned, so she was clear to run in China.

She is Nigerian anyway, and would have simply left the UK to run for some other nation.

Another likely drug user.

 

[Alpha Male]

Why did Turner delete his posts?

 

[white lightning]

I wonder if guys like Powell & Bolt are not caught, if guys like Pickering, Osovnikar and others will even bother to continue to compete. It has to be absolutley demoralizing to see guys clowning on the track as they destroy the entire field like they are a bunch of children. Jason Gardner spoke up all the time about how many sprinters were juiced to the gills. He felt he should have made a few major finals and possibly have won a couple of medals if not for all of the cheats. I know alot of others feel the same way.


There are 3 options for these guys.


One is to join the party and use peds.


Two is to continue running clean and get killed most of the time.


Three is to quit the sport or change sports to another place like football where the potential to make money might be easier or just to start a normal working career.





It would be a tough choice to make for most average sprinters. I would hope that they choose number 2 because I still appreciate anyone who can run in the low 10 second range and put in the hard work naturally. Good luck to Craig and all of the other guys inthe fight to be more competetive.

















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[Maple Leaf]

Giovanimarcon wrote:

"...If Bolt is clean, then good for him..." Paisano, you must have had one too many when you wrote that!

There is no "if", just simply "what kind".

 

[Furina fan]

I hope Pickering keeps training hard and eventually goes under 10. That accomplishment is the next step white sprinters need.Once he does that a great psychological and realimpass will be overcome. Him and others will then go on to improve upon that time. Rome was not built in a day.


As far as the banned drugs are concerned, Pickering should avoid them of course. Edited by: Furina fan