Olympic Question: No offense to anyone... but...

[battleknight24]

Approximately how many olympic athletes this year do you think are using performance enhancing drugs?


Peace,

[rooboy]

1. Lots. In some sports, most. n/t

[Dookus]

2. I doubt it's most

there will be some. But it's a constant escalating war of drugs vs. detection methods, and maybe I'm just optimistic, but I think most amateur athletes sincerely want to win fairly.

[rooboy]

4. Amateur athletes? In what sports?

Did you know that even table tennis has a healthy professional league in Europe? Pro's are allowed in the Olympic Games in all sports. Many of the sports you think are amateur actually aren't - you just can't make a buck playing them in the USA.

And bear in mind that countries like China will give you quite a good lifestyle if you win. In Australia, for example, a gold medal is worth probably a million in sponsorship and endorsements, regardless of the sport you win at.

So in sports like sailing where drugs probably don't count, I would say there isn't much drug taking. In sprinting, weightlifting and cycling... that's another matter.

We kicked 2 cyclists out of the Australian team just one or two weeks ago because of a massive drug scandal in our squad.

[Dookus]

5. well

how many professional gymnasts are there? Swimmers? Track and field professionals?

There are a handful of sports that are "professional" in the olympics.

[rooboy]

9. Good question...

let me tell you one thing. Our top swimmers, Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett, don't have day jobs because there are millions out there waiting for them in endorsements and sponsorship. The Australian Institute of Sport picks up the tab for many of the other athletes.

But you will notice that success in a sport seems to center around where the money is. Why are the Africans so good at distance running? Because there's big money for the successful ones, and it represents their way out of the third world.

I would refer to my previous post. There are some very marginal sports, e.g. modern pentathlon, archery, but the real key here is GOLD, GOLD, GOLD. If you can be made a national hero in archery, who gives a crap...it's about being a marketable commodity.

CJ Hunter, Marion Jones' husband, was banned as a shot putter for doping.

[Dookus]

14. umm...

future success via endorsements does not make an athlete a "professional".

[jeff30997]

3. All the winners without exception.

[Dookus]

6. Nonsense

There's absolutely no evidence of that.

[jeff30997]

7. Because they don't get caught.

And the IOC don't want to catch too many of them.Too much money involved.I don't watch the Olympics anymore now that i know what's going on backstage.

[Dookus]

8. provide some evidence

beyond your own "feelings".

[rooboy]

10. There is evidence, unfortunately...

there was a huge scandal around recent Olympics (particularly Atlanta in '96) where a large number of positive tests were 'lost' so as not to ruin the image of the games. This sort of stuff is not as common because the methods for catching cheats have become pretty good, but so has the technology in masking the cheating.

If you do a google you'll find tons of stories about this stuff.

[Dookus]

11. Yes

there is an escalating battle... but you haven't provided any evidence that the majority of these kids are cheating.

[rooboy]

12. I didn't say the majority of 'these kids' were cheating.

I simply pointed out that the cheating is not all innuendo and 'feelings'.

[Dookus]

13. Please explain

I don't understand. You claimed that every Olympic winner is doping. Doping is cheating.

What exactly are you trying to say?

[rooboy]

16. WHERE did I say that???

jeff30997 made that assertion, not me.

[Dookus]

17. You're right

I apologize. I got confused in the thread.

[troublemaker]

15. Not nearly enough

I know everyone's a great athlete these days, but somehow nothing's taking my breath away. (Maybe ESPN2 has spoiled the novelty of weird sports)