I just learned that the Russian doping scandal extends to paralympians, according to The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/ ... sia-doping
Quote:
However last December Richard McLaren said that he had found “a cover-up that operated on an unprecedented scale” – and pointed the finger at the Russian ministry of sport, the Russian security services, and the Russian anti-doping agency for creating what he called “an institutional conspiracy across summer, winter and Paralympic sports”.
The Canadian law professor also said that he had also been able to confirm that urine samples, which had been taken from Russian athletes at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and at other major championships, had been swapped for their clean urine by using small metal rods to prise open the supposedly tamper-proof bottles. They were carried out by the state security service, the FSB, with McLaren describing them as “magicians”.
What with the Russian interference in our elections, this story had kind of slipped my mind. I guess I feel conflicted about the inclusion of paralympians. Sure, I have an able body, but I feel a kinship with all disabled people. If they're being abused, I respond more vehemently. Also, if they're being idiots, apropos of nothing in particular.
OTOH, they're including the disabled people in their criminal enterprise. OTOH, they're not excluding them. OTGH, I've thought for a while that we need two sets of international sports competitions: doped and clean. If people used performance-enhancing drugs more safely under medical supervision, that seems like the best harm-reduction policy. Then the clean athletes can feel like they have a safe space for their competition. Everyone wins, also science. Maybe disabled people can benefit from advances in performance-enhancing drugs.
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"I find that the best way [to increase self-confidence] is to lie to yourself about who you are, what you've done, and where you're going." - Richard Ayoade
11 Nov 2017, 4:22 am
