Carl Lewis Doubts Usain Bolt

In a revealing interview with SI.com, American Olympic icon Carl Lewis isn't buying what Usain Bolt's selling when he said, "for someone to run 10.03 one year and 9.69 the next, if you don't question that in a sport that has the reputation it has right now, you're a fool. Period. "

Lewis then went on to praise the best random and most comprehensive drug testing program (the U.S.) and contrast that with Jamaica. "Countries like Jamaica do not have a random program, so they can go months without being tested. I'm not saying anyone is on anything, but everyone needs to be on a level playing field."

Lewis goes on to say, "No one is accusing anyone. But don't live by a different rule and expect the same kind of respect. They say, "Oh, we've (the Jamaicans) been great for the sport." No, you have not. No country has had that kind of dominance. I'm not saying they've done anything for certain. I don't know. But how dare anybody feel that there shouldn't be scrutiny, especially in our sport?"

Reflecting on the 9.8 threshold that Bolt surpassed this year. "Let's be real. Let me go through the list: Ben Johnson, Justin Gatlin, Tim Montgomery, Tyson Gay and the two Jamaicans. Six people have run under 9.80 legally, three have tested positive, and one had a year out. Not to say [Bolt] is doing anything, but he's not going to have me saying he's great and then two years later he gets popped. If I don't trust it, what does the public think?"

Lewis addressed one issue I raised in an earlier post questioning when Jamaica became the sprint capitol of the world when he questioned how the women's world 100 champion cannot make the Olympic team. "I look at someone like [Jamaican track star] Veronica Campbell-Brown, who lives in the United States, and has been transparent and consistent. She won the worlds last year in the 100 meters and this year she can't even make the team? And you're going to tell me that shouldn't be questioned?"

Lewis is also not a fan of how admitted cheaters are still able to influence young athletes. "Here's what angers me: Antonio Pettigrew [a North Carolina assistant track coach who testified in federal court that he took human growth hormone and EPO between 1997-2001 while winning the 4x400 relay gold in the 2000 Olympics, a medal he returned in June] kept his job and he's coaching young athletes. This is wrong. There have to be consequences for your actions."

I agree with Lewis that Pettigrew should not be coaching young athletes, especially at a public university. He is an admitted doper and the line of athletes "learning from his mistakes" doesn't fly. Carl Lewis in this interview has done the impossible: by invoking five variations of "not saying anyone is on anything", Lewis essentially said Usain Bolt cheated without saying he cheated! If you're not saying anyone is anything, doubting Bolt's accomplishments and advocating a level playing field, then what the hell are you saying Carl?

You were on the forefront with Ben Johnson, be out on front again...but you have to say it.

Michael Johnson to Return Gold Medal

Michael Johnson has decided to return the gold medal that he won along with his teammates in the 1,600 meter relay from the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. In a column he wrote for the Daily Telegraph, Johnson was "shocked" to learn Antonio Pettigrew, someone he considered a friend, used PED's from 1997 to 2001.

When Jerome Young tested positive for PED's in 1999, Pettigrew and Johnson discussed whether to give back the medals. Since Young was exonerated, Pettigrew convinced Johnson that they were in the right to keep their medals, even though Pettigrew "was guilty and the medal was tainted anyway."

Johnson has "been naive," but does not buy the excuses everyone needs to use PED's in order to compete because everyone else is using and that coaches are pressuring athletes to use PED's.

Johnson supports the crop of new stars: Jeremy Wariner, Allyson Felix, Tyson Gay, Christine Ohuruogu, Usain Bolt (current WFM) and Asafa Powell, but can understand how the public can be skeptical of their performance. Many of the athletes who admitted to using PED's never tested positive.

As I speculated in a previous post, when three of the four runners in the finals have admitted to using PED's, there are only three possibilities regarding the fourth: he was using, he didn't know or he knew, but took the high road and raced clean.

As for Pettigrew, is he out of the hospital yet? Johnson threw him under the bus! By taking the high road, Johnson forced Pettigrew to give up his medal. If Johnson didn't do the right thing now and return the medal, when would he?

New World's Fastest Man; Let the Speculation Begin

Usain Bolt of Jamaica set the world record in the 100 meters on Saturday and became the World's Fastest Man. As mentioned in an earlier post, WFM is code for roid head. Knowing now what we know about former WFM's, speculation is already swirling around Bolt.

Bolt, like many WFM before him, has denied taking PED's and has not failed a drug test. Skeptics are out on front on this one because Bolt has only run the 100 five times professionally, yet in that span recorded two of the three fastest times ever. Either he truly is the fastest man and will continue to get better, or he is working with new undetectable PED's.

Even with his lack of experience in the 100, Bolt is an accomplished sprinter. He has focused in the past in the 200 meters and was the first junior sprinter to break 20 seconds. At the 2007 world championships, Bolt finished second to Tyson Gay. Ironically enough, Gay, the 2007 world champion in the 100, finished second to Bolt on Saturday with a time of 9.85.

Mary Wittenberg, chief executive of NY Road Runners and race director for the NYC Marathon said, "I think we can believe these performances more than ever before. I think there's a higher level of fear among agents, coaches and athletes than ever before, and I think that is serving us well."

I disagree with Mrs. Wittenberg. Why do athletes use PED's? Because they work. The amount of money involved in becoming the WFM, endorsement deals, gold medals has become so big that the temptation to dope is overwhelming. Does Marion Jones regret cheating? No, she and Tim Montgomery regret getting caught lying to the feds.

When an athlete sees their former heroes shamed and admit to doping, it will only lead them to choose to dope. This naivete to think the controls and fear we have in place are sufficient has led track and field to become a fringe sport where the majority of people who follow it, assume some, if not most, athletes are doping of some kind.

Bolt's coach, Glen Mills, cited Bolt's conscience and the fact that Bolt does not even take vitamin C as reasons why his client is clean. Gay has voluntarily entered into a program where he is being tested regularly to diffuse some of the skepticism of his performance. Gay admited the sport has a credibility issue when he said, "People will have suspicions probably as long as track and field is going on."

Not taking vitamin C does not preclude you from taking an undetectable steroid and being tested regularly could be seen as a pr stunt if Gay is on an undetectable steroid. The cheaters are usually always ahead of the enforcers, but hopefully there are a few clean athletes who mean what they say and years from now don't have the mea culpa in front of the courthouse, but don't hold your breath.