Topic: Cheaters

[Roman Hunt]

You may be correct. I have never read of such effects nor do the gear heads I know believe in that type of methodology.

For the record I am not a supporter of using gear!

[Paul LaDuke]

good morning gentlemen/ladies.  lets get right to it,if anyone is caught cheating on the first test a or b they should be banned for life,no second chances to find a better way to cheat .

Thomas,

I couldn't agree more!  Currently, a coach could juice a lifter for 10 years, fail a test due to bad timing of a cycle and a surprise, spend 2 years out of competition and come back to lift.  How is someone who was clean for that 10 year prep phase supposed to compete against someone who trained illegally for 10 years?  A 2 year suspension doesn't negate the effects of PED's used for that period of time.  If the IWF really wanted to clean up the sport long term, they would implement a lifetime ban.  Even a 5 year ban or 2 Olympic games period ban would do a lot to clean up the sport.

[steve zeigman]

I wish there were no double standards and selective reasoning. But unfortunately there are.

Didn't Kolecki cheat and get caught using banned drugs before Athens? 

If this is true than according to some in USA he should not even be at the Olympics. He should have been banned for life on his 1st and only positive test!  And since others say testing is being beaten who knows maybe he's cheating again.

But I know he got a second chance and I believe he came and won silver clean...fair and square.  I'm glad he did. He's become a fantastic lifter with champion sportsmanship! 

[Roman Hunt]

If you have used gear to gain ANY of your strength how are you not a cheater at this sport until you die?

[Mads Thøgersø]

Roman Hunt:
Sorry to Say, but that is just stupid! So you mean that if you've done ONE stupid thing, your proffesional life just have to be over?

When you get caught in using doping, you sre not allowed to perform the sport for 2 years, and you will be under constant control, and after 2 years, what you once have gained by the use of doping is LONG GONE!!!

It's fair to give people a secound chance!

[steve zeigman]

YES THAT'S WHAT MANY ARE SAYING!!  THAT'S WHAT THEY WROTE TO ME!

I'M SAYING EVERYONE DESERVES A SECOND CHANCE!

The reply above was split off from another topic which was about Illa and Kolecki and where Kolecki was being admired.

I don't see how this was not on topic as a reply to his admirers?  But so be it!  

And maybe it's better this way. Perhaps we should have a topic and a poll on how we feel about banning for life the already suspended once lifters, we admire, when we see them on the platform again.

Now that would be interesting...  Stand by your formally suspended man or woman banned substance cheater... yes or no?

BTW: Chris or others, how many lifters (names) who have been suspended already once are there in these games?  I wonder what the total is for all the Olympic sports now?  Cheaters who came back into a program they could beat!

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Steve,

It was off topic because that topic was specifically about the great contest between him and Illin and Kolecki's hair. You already started one topic on doping and have chosen to abandon it. Fair enough. This one is specifically about whether lifetime bans are appropriate. In my opinion, they are. However, I would certainly be willing to increase the suspension to 4 years to include the next Olympic Games first to see if it makes a dent in the plague we are suffering. And, after that if it still doesn't get the job done, I would support going to 8 years with two Olympic Games.

Two years is simply inadequate given the tremendous damage the cheating does to the contest, affecting the ENTIRE lives of the other competitors.

[steve zeigman]

I'm not against you!  I agree with you about cleaning it up.

There are rules for a reason and whether we agree with them or not we should abide by them. I don't want someone to have an unethical advantage over me and I don't want to have an unethical advantage over them.

Life time is okay with an A and B positive and so is 4 years which in sports is the same thing.

I just don't agree that we can and should accuse someone who hasn't tested positive of cheating is all.

Chris or others, how many lifters who have been suspended once already, are there competing in these 2008 games?  It would be interesting to know how lenient the system is?

I wonder what the total of suspends competing again is for all the Olympic sports now?  You know the 1st time cheaters who came back into every sports program they knew they could beat the tests for!