Starting blocks, photo by PhotoRun.net
As we go into Day 2 of the XXX Summer Olympic Games of the modern era, we see some success with the IAAF Athlete Biological Passport. While I applaud the catching of cheats, I believe the issue is a cultural one. We live in a global culture where we celebrate people for merely being obnoxious on terrestrial television, or for having the intellectual quotient of a small soap dish (stole that from National Lampoon Radio hour), or worse of all, valuing people because of the size of their pocket books. We have a world with very difficult problems, we need to celebrate people who are not afraid to use their brains, their hearts and their souls for the betterment of us all. That is, dear friends, is one of the key themes of the Olympic movement.
In modern society, the Olympics are an anomaly. To make a successful Olympics a country has to go nearly into hock (look at Montreal in 1976, Athens in 2004) to support 18 days that cost several billion dollars. The organizers have to worship at the altar of advertising and marketing. The truth is, that the most successful advertising in Olympic broadcasts celebrates the athlete, the notion that the battle fought is key, that whether one wins or loses, the honor comes in the challenges battled.
Advertisers gain from supporting the Olympics. Don't believe it? Ask VISA, ask Coca-Cola, ask McDonalds. It is also why Rule 40, while well meaning, in that it is meant to protect Olympic sponsors from guerilla marketing, I find it, to say the least, over the top. That President Rogge of the IOC quieted the marketing police down is another example of why M. Rogge gets the mystique and culture surrounding the Olympics. It is a tough dance, and President Rogge is an excellent dancer (yes, that is a compliment).
I love the Olympics. It is the 18 days, every four years, that celebrate all that is good in sport. Of course I ignore the trite, the over sell. For the most part, the major sponsors know that crossing the line, trying to get too much implicit value from the Olympics would be frowned upon by the three billion TV viewers.
Because we value sport, and because, like other activities, the best get paid more, some people cheat. Drug testing in Track & Field, while far from perfect, is the most rigorous of any sport on the Olympic schedule. Funny, when T&F catches a drug cheat, instead of it being applauded, the non track sport media sees it as another indication of how the sport is going to hell. I have to admit, that I do tire of that.
The IAAF Athlete Biological Passport is a small step in the right direction. While drug testing is key, out of competition is obvious, the discussion of right and wrong, or sports ethics is key. This is not religion, this is ethics. A conscience is what is needed. Cheating is wrong, period, whether it is on one's spouse, taxes or using a banned substance in order to gain an advantage over another athlete.
Cheating is cheating, and if the IAAF Athlete Biological Passport catches more cheats, then, I am a believer.
Ashley Higginson, 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, photo by PhotoRun.net
Nickel Ashmeade, photo by PhotoRun.net
