What a thoroughly dispiriting spectacle that women's 100m final was. I youtubed Jonathan Edwards triple jump wr from 1995, after watching the triple jump final and the stadium was jam packed full of enthusiastic and excited spectators.
Fast forward to 2019 and the athletes are being watched by, err.....no one. In many ways athletics has brought this all on itself but (as someone who had the minerals in their youth*) athletics is dying a slow painful undignified death.
*represented England as a schoolboy 800m.
She forgot to declare some toothpaste that contained a non performance improving, non masking agent painkiller. She admitted her mistake in the end and took the 6 month ban.Congrats to Asher Smith on getting silver. Didn't Fraser Price once serve a drug ban if I recall correctly. It's seems so rife in Athletics.
The attendances at this are worse than at the Etihad ;-)
I went to two sessions in London and the stadium and atmosphere were fantastic. Athletics has a great following and you see the diamond league events are packed out at most venues. If the IAAF feel the need to send the WC to somewhere like Doha, then its no suprise that the stands are empty.You didn't need to go back to 1995 to find a packed stadium at a World Championships.
Two years ago in London the stadium was full for every session including the heats.
The choice of host city is the issue rather than the sport.
Ah thanks. Challenging but then you can miss a few tests and it's swept under the carpet like Coleman. Athletics does itself no favours at times. Gatlin still competing after his track record with drugs is very poor for the sport imo.She forgot to declare some toothpaste that contained a non performance improving, non masking agent painkiller. She admitted her mistake in the end and took the 6 month ban.
It must be extremely challenging to be an athlete, I read recently about the drug-testing routines they go through having to be on hand to give samples at any point, inform the authorities of where they are going to be at all times. It was on the BBC website I think, a few months back, but I can't find it now.
Totally agree athletics and cycling everytime someone wins the first thing you think is are they on drugs.People have lost all interest in a sport that lets drug cheats compete with impunity.
and as long as apologists talk about pain relieving toothpastes as an excuse they will continue to cheat.
People have lost all interest in a sport that lets drug cheats compete with impunity.