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[SSBubbles]

Did I hear this correctly?

I have just heard on the television about four riders who have been banned from competing this afternoon as their HORSES have tested positive for a banned substance!

It is one thing to abuse your own body, but innocent animals?

Whatever next

[Nikitas]

When you make the medal the supreme value then you legitimise all means to that end.

In the original games they got a wreath and nought else. Now there is gold, sponsorships, advertising contracts, secure pensions, and a whole bunch of other goodies. It is calculated that top Olympians will make up to 100 million dollars a year. No wonder they dope themselves and horses and anyone who is standing next to them!

The solution is to allow doping, as long as athletes declare it. And have two classes of athletes, those that use it and those that do not. Otherwise it is just a game of catch me if you can as mercenary scientitsts race ahead of the testers.

[Sotos]

Doping horses is something very usual in horse races. So I am not surprised!

[SSBubbles]

Doping horses is something very usual in horse races. So I am not surprised!

................but you do not condone these actions I hope Soto ?

[tessintrnc]

When you make the medal the supreme value then you legitimise all means to that end.

In the original games they got a wreath and nought else. Now there is gold, sponsorships, advertising contracts, secure pensions, and a whole bunch of other goodies. It is calculated that top Olympians will make up to 100 million dollars a year. No wonder they dope themselves and horses and anyone who is standing next to them!

The solution is to allow doping, as long as athletes declare it. And have two classes of athletes, those that use it and those that do not. Otherwise it is just a game of catch me if you can as mercenary scientitsts race ahead of the testers.

Thats a really interesting suggestion!! I wonder who would have the guts to own up to using though?

[TonyC]

Just a little detail - I'm not claiming it makes it better, but it's best to get it right.

It was "only" one horse that was doped, however as it is a team event all 4 riders we're chucked out.

[Nikitas]

Why have a problem with declaring doping if all you want is to break records and make money etc? All that nonsense of pushing the limits of human endurance and other high sounding cliches is nonsense. Modern sports are a continuation of the Roman arena, nothing to do with the original Olympic spirit. So let us have both.

We tried an interesting experiment at the skeet range. All shooters shot a round of skeet with the same gun, not the super expensive specially fitted Italian jobs used by the top shots. The result was that the top guys still scored the highest, but the difference between the top shots and the rest was much less than before. It is obvious that the superior technology makes a difference Same goes for other sports where the top men wear special shoes, or slippery swimsuits etc. The equipment is a sort of doping if you think about it and we have no problem with it. So let's be honest about chemical enhancers too.

[SSBubbles]

Just a little detail - I'm not claiming it makes it better, but it's best to get it right.

It was "only" one horse that was doped, however as it is a team event all 4 riders we're chucked out.

Thank you TonyC. Can you clarify for me that all FOUR riders share the ONE horse? - as I was under the impression that the riders were of different nationalities!

[Oracle]

The solution is to allow doping, as long as athletes declare it. And have two classes of athletes, those that use it and those that do not. Otherwise it is just a game of catch me if you can as mercenary scientitsts race ahead of the testers.

Even with two strata of Olympics for "doped" and "non-doped", you would still rely on the honesty of the "non-doped" participants to be just that. Human nature being what it is, and the stakes so attractive this falls at the first hurdle.

Regarding allowing doping, participants would go down an ever decreasing spiral of more and more dangerous varieties of performance enhancing drugs, and fatalities are not uncommon.

Developments in material technology also offer advantages beyond the Human capabilities. Most evident in cycling.

[TonyC]

Well Bubbles, I didn't mean that they all shared the one horse. There are 4 riders and 4 horses that work as a team. If one cheats it affects the whole team so they all get thrown out.
Or are you just trying to wind me up...?

And oh yes, they were all the same nationality - Norwegian! - yes the sqeaky-cleans also occasionally get muck under their nails....