14-01-2016, 13:37
Assuming today's further revelations IAAF are as disastrous as expected I can understand the idea of opening a new book of World Records. There's no woman who can run close to Marita Koch' s 400 metre time or Flo-Jo in the 100/200 ........ but those times happened. They are part of the sport's history. The drugs happened. Don't we need to be open about that, not close off the past?
Wouldn't the solution be just to asterisk all the suspect records and include alongside them what we consider the true world best?
The danger is if we simply start a new record book ....... imagine if Usain Bolt comes up injured this season. His records become part of a discredited past and the runner most likely to set the new record will be the convicted drug cheat Justin Gatlin. What a way to start.
Equally starting a new record book when you haven't the means to detect or prevent state-sponsored, coach-facilitated or medically-aided cheating seems foolhardy. Won't we just be scrapping an old set of bent records for a new one?
Wouldn't the solution be just to asterisk all the suspect records and include alongside them what we consider the true world best?
The danger is if we simply start a new record book ....... imagine if Usain Bolt comes up injured this season. His records become part of a discredited past and the runner most likely to set the new record will be the convicted drug cheat Justin Gatlin. What a way to start.
Equally starting a new record book when you haven't the means to detect or prevent state-sponsored, coach-facilitated or medically-aided cheating seems foolhardy. Won't we just be scrapping an old set of bent records for a new one?