It seems like every Olympic Games is marred by reports of the use of performance-enhancing drugs and the 2008 event in Beijing is no exception. Ukrainian heptathlon silver medallist Liudmyla Blonska has tested positive for anabolic steroids and her medal has been given to runner-up American Hyleas Fountain, with Russia’s Tatiana Chernova given the bronze. A second test confirmed the results on August 21 with methyltestosterone being identified as the offending substance.
Blonska has already served a doping suspension between 2003 and 2005 and her return to the sports world has been filled with controversy. She was thrown out of the athletes’ village after the second test. The International Olympic Committee will in all probability serve her with a life-long ban.
Four athletes have been kicked out of the August games so far over doping offences, including participtants from Greece, DPR Korea, Spain and Vietnam. IOC officials report that over 4000 tests had been conducted so far, including urine and blood samples.
A second wave of disappointment over doping offences resulted after rider Denis Lynch from the Irish Olympic team was withdrawn from the show jumping final when his horse Lantinus tested positive for a banned substance. The 32-year-old Lynch was a favourite for a medal and was dumped just four hours before the finals were due to begin. Ireland is still haunted by a similar occurrence in Athens in 2004 when the gold medal won by show jumper Cian O’Connor was stripped after his horse also tested positive for banned substances. Fans and officials alike were asking the question: how could this happen again.
Many Olympic athletes were also saddened by the news that the lack of international appeal has caused the sports of baseball and softball to be discontinued for the 2012 London Games. The sports first entered the Olympics as demonstration sports in Seoul in 1988 and the level of the athletes has improved steadily ever since, so many were surprised.
While the sports are popular in North and Central America and some areas of South America as well as isolated section of Asia, they are not understood or able to attract a solid audience of fans and supporters in the rest of the world. The decision is to be reviewed after the Beijing Games.
The total of sports in 2012 will now be only 26, two less than in Beijing but squash, karate, golf, roller skating and rugby are being considered as replacements at a later date. International Olympic Committee members hold secret ballots to decide which sports to axe or reinstate ahead of the London Games in 2012. It’s believed that if the 2016 games are held in North America, meaning Chicago’s bid will be successful, that baseball and softball may indeed be included once again. Sports enthusiasts will have to stay tuned!
