It is a crying shame that after the more or less successful Salt Lake City Winter Olympic games have concluded that the stench of scandal stillsurrounds top-level athletics. It was revealed on the last day of competition, prior to the somewhat overblown and pompous closing cermonies (one understands honouring former gold medal winners such as Dorothy Hamill and Scott Hamilton. But aging pseudo-rockers KISS? C’mon.) that two gold medal winners and another medallist in cross country skiings had been stripped of their medals after failing a drug test. It seems that German expatriate Johann Muehlegg, skiing for Spain and two Russian skiiers did not expect that the new, little-known performance enhancing drug darbeoptin, for which they tested positive, would be on the ROC’s list of banned substances, or that there existed testing procedures to uncover abuse of this drug. Two issues immediately spring to the fore, especially so as these disqualifications affected both Estonia and Canada, more so as it casts a shadow on the entire sport of cross-country skiing, the favourite winter pasttime of most Estonians, and gaining popularity here. The first has to do with the fact that the IOC stripped medals from the winners only in the races after which they tested positive. In other words, Muehlegg, who tested positive after “winning” the 50 km clasical ski race was stripped of the gold, but allowed to keep the other two golds gained in earlier races. It beggars the imagination, and stretches the concepts of credibility!. Doping is doping, and the effects of banned substances can linger longer than is perhaps detectable, even in today’s testing process. All results should have been disqualified. - or is it akin to having three arson charges reduced to one in a court of appeal? Where there is smoke there undoubtedly is fire. As a side note, the whole case of Muehlegg casts poor light on federations and the transfer of allegiances in top-level sports. Muehlegg became a Spanish citizen after feuding with the German ski federation. He is hardly alone. Many must have noticed how many athletes from former Soviet Bloc countries, with names ending in “-ova” and “-yev” are competing under the colours of such winter sport powerhouses as Australia. Incidentally, as a result of Muehlegg’s positive test Estonia’s Andrus Veerpalu was moved up from the bronze medal position to being winner of silver, giving Estonia a historic one-of-each at these Olympics. Who knows, however, if Veerpalu might not have made it a pair of golds - Muehlegg’s “victory” margin in the 50km was quite formidable, and Veerpalu may just have expended more energy than he could have afforded to chasing a doped up athlete. The other case involves Canada’s Beckie Scott, a surprise bronze medallist in the women’s 2.5 km pursuit, finishing behind two Russians, who, yes indeed, tested positive for the same substance after other races. Yet their gold and silver “victories” in Scott’s race were allowed to stand. In a cruel irony, Scott is an outspoken anti-doping campaigner, insisting that doping is rife in the sport of cross-country skiing, and as proven now, the field was not clean. Without a doubt, Beckie Scott was denied her rightful place on the podium. The whole reasoning behind dope-testing is to ensure a level playing field, equal opportunities for all. Once a cheater, always a cheater, as the schoolyard taunt goes. It is sad that the IOC’s arbitrary stand on these matters does not allow honest effort to be rewarded. Do what you will, the gold medals “won” by Muehlegg and Olga Danilova that they will be allowed to keep will forever be tainted, made of fool’s gold. And all this after the song and dance that surrounded the ice skating pairs medal decisions. Unfortunately for Jamie Salé and David Pelletier, their gold has a different tint to it as well, one not of their own doing. Controversy is sure to rage for years to come. Now that professional athelets are legally allowed to compete in the games, thus avoiding the hypocricy that denied NHL’ers the right to compete in hockey when the Soviets were nothing but professional athletes, the IOC and the various governing federations must adopt a professional, consistent and fair stand on all issues dealing with illegal behaviour. Trying to get an unfair advantage in a competition designed to be decided on natural, not artificial ability is, any way you slice it, morally and ethically wrong. The IOC, by allowing some results to stand, is silently condoning this practice - just don’t get caught, they seem to be saying. Now is the time to act, before the practice gets swept under the carpet, only, unavoidably to arise again at the next Olympics.

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