2/22/14 5:49 PM

I find myself wondering if folks think this to themselves with the Olys.

Not trying to start a PED bashfest, only liek to see what the general sentiment is, specific to the winter games at hand.

Examples; when 1st/gold in Alpine events are 1+ minutes to silver, and with older athletes smoking younger athletes. [not as in smoking ciggys]. Not to mention 1st to 10th times no less...

Another, the Speed Skating Norwegian team are terminators. And the short track has a few 'wheel ride offs' as well. And a few Speed Skating hopefuls having a skater not holding onto his teamates in the pursuit.

Only 3 reported doping fails so far... Are they just not doing it right and others are and not testing positive. We know that is possible, don't we?

Discuss?

2/22/14 6:30 PM

We will always suspect performances that are way outside the bell curve. Being cyclist we are cynics.

2/22/14 8:01 PM

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the Speed Skating Norwegian team are terminators

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2/22/14 8:09 PM

Yeah, Netherlands... Sorry...

2/22/14 8:53 PM

performers are on something <i>unnatural</i>...

3 positives so far. i have a hard time believing that the IOC/WADA would have anywhere near the ability to catch *every* doper, so lets call those 3 the tip of the iceberg -- the 3 worst-supervised dopers in the games. big question is how big that iceberg really is in these games?

Last edited by walter on 2/22/14 9:18 PM; edited 1 time in total

2/22/14 9:02 PM

ooops

2/22/14 9:26 PM

ABC News link:
All four cases involve stimulants that can be found in food supplements. They are all classified as a "specified stimulant" on the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list.

trimetazidine I think from browsing...

2/23/14 8:56 AM

I was pondering this question yesterday when I watched the women's 30km cross-country ski event.

The Norwegian team smoked the competition by like 3 minutes, placing 1-2-3. It wasn't even close for the has been's and made me wonder how it is they are so much better. Granted that Scandinavians have always excelled at both x-country and jumping, but still competing in the Olympics is essentially a full time job, so everybody is training full time. But the Norwegians just skied away from everyone.

2/23/14 10:39 AM

Sweden dominated in 2 of the cross country relays, and I was wondering if they would get popped. It was then reported that Norway got the wax wrong mid week, and it was quite the scandal.

I assume they all are doping, but wonder how many will get caught.

I saw that Kris Freeman has to get a medical waiver to wear an insulin pump, because exogenous insulin is a banned substance. I think they use it with steroids to control glucose levels. Having too much insulin in your veins will cause a low blood sugar, which is like a bonk, but worse. Insulin alone is not a ped.

2/23/14 11:03 AM

...and with good cause, as there has been considerable doping in the past. As in cycling, it should be harder to get away with it now. The question is are they doping or is it just that their national sports programs are really outstanding. It's really no different than the Belgian dominance of cyclocross.

My bigger concern is with the events themselves, specifically that the Winter Olympics are becoming an extension of the "X-Games". The crash-fest at the Ski Cross was the last straw for me. Between this insanely dangerous stuff that keeps getting more extreme and "events for couch potatoes" like curling that should never be in the Olympics, I'm starting to get turned off by the whole spectacle. It's time to stop adding events and consider paring back a few, and toning down some others.

2/23/14 11:17 AM

Events are chosen in part because they are popular. I enjoy the ski and SB cross it is goo ole racing at its finest. It is fun to watch too. The trick stuff in the half pipe and down hill is amazing.

I also enjoy the sled sports.

I find hockey boring in the Olympics on TV but enjoy the pro games in a live venue.

2/23/14 12:07 PM

I liked the new ski-slope, agree the free style can only go into the stratosphere danger wise. Somehow, my contempt for boarder makes me not mind them killing themselves off doing ultra dangerous stuff, kidding [maybe].

But it 'was' a errant border's move which made me have to make a fast stop happen in a much smaller arc/radius. This made me go off a drop off I would not have further down the slope which was the plan. thus the tib/fib event of 2006. Boarder never knew what occurred, much like blade runners turning which also do not look up slope/line prior. Love sudden cross slope plays, NOT.

2/23/14 3:50 PM

...and I like the head-to-head competition, but the jumps on the courses are getting too extreme. Unfortunately, it's probably going to take someone getting paralyzed or killed on national or international TV before they back it off to a reasonable level. Emphasizing the corners and pumping the smaller jumps will make the racing plenty interesting without turning it into a crapshoot as to who can land huge jumps on unpredictable snow.

2/23/14 7:50 PM

"and I like the head-to-head competition, but the jumps on the courses are getting too extreme. Unfortunately, it's probably going to take someone getting paralyzed or killed on national or international TV before they back it off to a reasonable level. Emphasizing the corners and pumping the smaller jumps will make the racing plenty interesting without turning it into a crapshoot as to who can land huge jumps on unpredictable snow."

And yet they have curling. Really ?. Has to be about the most boring sport I have ever watched.

2/24/14 12:21 AM

Does seem more like a bored game, not a sport. ;)

2/24/14 4:11 AM

Well the DVR got a pretty heavy workout the past two weeks, but cross-country, biathlon, and speed skating were the only sports I actually watched. I fast forwarded through the rest.

And I reckon that any sport that involves subjective judgement shouldn't be in the Olympics (either summer or winter). If you can't get the result through objective measurement, get rid of it.

2/24/14 6:30 AM

Curling has no business being in the Olympics, period. While it requires skill, it doesn't require any athleticism. You could be an obese, chain-smoking alcoholic and be competitive at curling.

I heard an interesting conversation related to Olympic sports that are judged. Apparently, in 1988, there was one sport that was subjective, figure skating (and the judging was hugely corrupt back then). This year, there were seventeen judged sports. I tend to agree that's not a good trend, especially since they are largely X-Games type events.

They also talked about taking the judging out of ski jumping and making it a strictly distance-based event. That seems like a good idea.

2/24/14 9:28 AM

You can take the judging out of figure skating and based it only on difficulty. It would be more like gymnastic with only the floor exercise but without all the instruments. I think that would make it a more boring event to watch. All the skaters will be spinning tops on ice and that would be all.

Gymnastic is the biggest summer event that are judged. No one in their right mind would argue it's not a sport. I don't see how that can be done without the judges. Same goes with diving.

Same goes with all the freestyle events in the winter game. You can't have the competition without the judging.

Keep in mind, they don't get good score if they don't land it!

2/24/14 11:14 AM

"Keep in mind, they don't get good score if they don't land it!"

And for slope style I noticed, how quiet they are in the air it seemed was a real booster for the score for the run. And like skating it seems, the difficulty and revolutions to boot.

2/25/14 6:05 AM

...from sports such as figure skating, because it really cannot be done, nor should it be. It's the nature of the sport and the judging system is far less opaque and corrupt than it used to be. I didn't say that something that is judged is not a sport, so I don't know where April got that idea. One thing that has happened in figure skating is that there are specific judges that use video replays to check the technical executions aspects of a performance and that should probably be done in all judged sports. Some happen so fast that I don't know how anyone can really judge them accurately in real time, unless there are very obvious flaws such as falls.

2/25/14 9:25 AM

This is a good article written by Frankie Andreau.


http://www.bicycling.com/training-nutrition/training-fitness/sochi-s-lessons-cyclists

2/25/14 10:20 AM

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I didn't say that something that is judged is not a sport, so I don't know where April got that idea.

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I reckon that any sport that involves subjective judgement shouldn't be in the Olympics (either summer or winter).

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2/27/14 5:44 PM

Must be nice IF all you have to worry about is IN competition testing...I think you'd have to be an idiot to get caught AT the games. So call me a skeptic, when I hear how clean these games were I just kinda have to laugh...yep clean just like the 1999 TdF.

2/27/14 8:06 PM

The XC skiing screams PEDs. If we all recall they are often noted as at the cutting edge of it with NESP and the likes coming up in the sport.

2/27/14 8:59 PM

XC skiing is basically cycling, albeit over a pair of skis rather than a pair of wheels. Only they've got no granny gear to spin on!

The demand of climbing on skis makes climbing on bike child's play!