The 2015 World Athletic Championships

How can you over-hype one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen? The British media make just as much fuss of successful British athletes, but the 100m is the glamour event in track and field, so it's not really any surprise that the biggest star gets the star treatment.

 

I get maybe not liking Bolt as people have different opinions. But wanting Gatlin to win instead...

 

Echo exactly that. Athletics is competing with Football [as is every other sport] for attention, and Usain Bolt is its top attraction. British media will rightly also include Ennis-Hill, Farah and a couple of others in its presentation. And Athletics has a purity about it that Football has lost or perhaps has never had, and that's appealing.

Tbh, when the sprinters lined up for the Final I had decided that Bolt had too many problems with his start and his running to overcome and he would lose. I doubted him. But like the true champion he is he got up and beat the challenger. Although it wasn't the greatest 100m race for me, it still had everything. It was pure drama in less than 10 seconds. Rarely does any sport manage to encapsulate such a series of events, circumstances and hopes in so tight a package.

 

I'm old enough to remember Mohammed Ali fighting in his day. I remember as a kid thinking he was a big mouth who nearly got knocked out by Henry Cooper, and there was a bit of cheating by his corner people so that he could make the next round and so go on and win the fight. But a few years went by and I began to realise what he was on about [hey, I was only between 6 - 10 years, so you could forgive me my previous ignorance]. The day he won against Joe Frazier I still felt sorry for Frazier, but by the time he fought George Foreman I was truly ready to be convinced. When he took all that punishment and then beat Foreman it was like all those tumblers finally clicked into place. For me he became The Sporting Hero, and will perhaps stay that way, despite my almost complete indifference to boxing. And George Foreman turned out to be a lovely bloke too.

Bolt is the pinnacle of Athletics. One could say he's a big mouth, but it's mostly play, even though there is a serious message too. But he's also a nice guy too. Truly, there's very little not to like.

 

He's actually been very gracious in victory, and not getting involved in the whole "saviour of athletics" thing.

 

What amazed me was the start. 8 highly primed athletes. Not a flicker of a false move before the drama unfolded. How can you write a play, film or over an event that lasts less than 10 seconds?

 

Now that the Government is giving further help to the British film industry, our film producers should be prepared to produce a biopic film of the greatest sprinter that has ever lived. And I don't mean to be sarcastic on this suggestion.

 

You really confuse me!

 

I can think of no better person to play Usain Bolt than... Usain Bolt!

 

Suck on it Gatlin. BBC rightly giving up on impartiality to declare the victory of good over evil. Which it was.

 

Triumph over evil will come when the politicians of this world decide to rule in favour of the people and not in the interests of the big corporate businesses. Justin Gatlin is an angel compared to these thugs.

 

I wonder if we consider Gatlin's background and that of many the predominantly Afro-American athletes. That's right the ghettoes and the only way out for them is through sport. IMO Gatlin has been ill-advised, made the wrong decisions and found out. He has served his time out of the game and rightly so. It is to Athletics credit that he has been allowed back in and given a chance to prove himself without resorting to the "medicine" again.

IMO a lifetime ban would be rather harsh. If found to have doped then a 4 to 6 year ban and then weekly testing on being allowed back into the sport. After all we haven't yet banned the politicians for all their dumb decisions (oh I wish we could) and if we allow these guys a second chance then an athlete deserves a second chance

 

Gatlin has been twice tho, so this is more a 3rd chance. If he had just had one ban I probably would feel differently. But I see it as he hasn't learnt or doesn't care about being banned. Hence why I don't want him to win a gold medal.

 

Point taken but the fault lies with the authorities who allowed him back in, not Justin!!! But he can count himself lucky to have been given a third chance.

 

As I said previously, speak to other athletes. Nothing to do with background - he decided (with his coaches) to cheat. Ban him. The fact he did it again, ban him for life.

 

Do you think for one second if he hadn't been caught, he wouldn't have carried on cheating? Why should honest athletes have to suffer and compete against that?

 

Unless you treat offenders harshly (let alone repeat offenders) - ie, ban them for life - you perpetuate the problem and you'll never have a chance at a clean sport. The punishment isn't currently enough to prevent people chancing their arm.

 

I wish you'd come off the fence and tell us what you really think LTL!

 

Hahaha! Yes, it's a sore point Chilcs, I admit! Only one way to clean it up though - make it not worth the risk of cheating.

 

Good thread. I tried not to buy into the whole good vs evil thing but found myself cheering as he crossed the line. His interview was pure class too.

Have to agree with the Ali comparison - for whatever reason, he does transcend the sport. I can't be the only one who has watched him on the telly in a room full of kids all cheering him home.