Doping 'scandal'

These links might be of interest. I think to find out what individual sportspeople received you might have to go to the relevant governing body (e.g. Athletics Ireland):


[broken link removed]
[broken link removed]

I heard John Treacy stating on Today FM yesterday evening when pressed by interviewer that Lombard got grants in the region of 20K from the Sports Council.

Re: Re: Doping 'scandal'

I disagree that he should be banned for life.

We don't ban drivers for life for having no insurance, tax etc.
No TV licence - no more TV for you. it doesn't happen

OK the guy is a qualified solicitor and he has something to fall back on, but let's say he was totally unqualifed to do anything else. Is it right that he should be banned from his profession for a lifetime?

How many solicitors/accountants/plumbers/etc. get life bans for breaking the rules of their profession?

athletics and dope

Yes but accountants shopkeepers and plumbers are not in the public eye, role models for the young, and beneficiaries of state funding. Cheating by individuals who hold public roles - whether as athetes or politicians - increases cynicism, diminishes trust and weakens the he social bond.

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The only thing he did wrong was to be caught. I suspect that you have to take drugs in order to realistically complete professionally. The real winners are those with access to the best chemists, and masking agents.

(I'm not suggesting that drugs are the only thing you need. However, when your competitors are all taking drugs, you have to too.)

We need to tune into reality here.

Re: .

Oh dear. I think this Olympics will be the most marred we've seen yet.

Re: .

Why is anyone surprised that an Irish Athlete would take drugs?

For some bizarre reason the Irish Olymics Council has insisted that to qualify to represent Ireland you must achieve the A-Standard. Virtually every country in the world accepts the B-Standard.

The A-Standard incidently is the time/score set by the 8th placed person in the last Olympics (AFAIK).

So Ireland reckons that unless you're in with a shout of a top 8 finish, you shouldn't be going to Athens.

Also It's entirely possible that the 8th place time was set by someone on drugs. We don't know.

The only countries that insist on the A-Standard are generally those that have so many athletes that they need to set a higher standard, like the USA.

We should be sending the best people we have in each event, and forget about whether they have a chance of winning. After all, it's taking part that counts (isn't it), and the experience of sending some of our younger athletes can only help them to progress.

Set an impossible standard and then act surprised when people cheat to achieve it.

I don't care who cheats, I stopped caring about the Olympics a long time ago. What I do care about is that clean athletes and swimmers who hold Irish records, who are certainly the best we have right now, are denied the chance to represent us. That's a far greater scandal.

-Rd





-Rd