Over the past nine days, I have eagerly watched the World Athletics Championships from Beijing. No, I have not stayed up until stupid-o’clock to watch the morning sessions, but over breakfast/coffee I have avidly caught up on the goings on and marvelled at the achievements of sporting greats from across the globe. The Great Britain and Northern Ireland Team have been simply amazing from the ‘old hands’ to the ‘young guns’ with Personal Bests and National Records in so many events.
Some athletes didn’t achieve what they set out to do – Katarina Johnson-Thompson (KJT) was gutted in the heptathlon to fail at all three attempts in the long jump, rendering her competition over with no points in that event. Others punched the track in disgust when they did not get to the final. But not one of them gave up. Each and every competitor gave it their all.
Our GB&NI team competed fairly with no cheating, and came out with the position they deserved on the day. It’s only one competition. The Olympics returns in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil next year (2016) and most of the competitors will make another appearance there, with another year’s training under their belts. Not all though.
Kenyans Joyce Zakary and Koki Manunga were the first athletes to fail drugs tests at the World Championships and it was already taking place under a cloud of doping allegations in the sport. Several drugs cheats had served their bans and been allowed to compete at the event. Some people would say that they should be banned for life. BBC commentators were criticised for their commentary on the 100m sprint when Bolt beat Gatlin…. in my opinion, they spoke the opinion of many millions of people around the world. Competitors should never give up but why do they cheat and lie to get ahead of others in their profession? It’s not ethical. It’s not professional. Stop.
[Source image: HDWallpapercuts.com]
