Stars split over scandals, Smikle fails too
Source: Agencies |
July 20, 2013, Saturday
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CARMELITA Jeter of the United States and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica walked out of a news conference on Thursday after the sprinters were asked about the atmosphere in their teams following recent failed doping tests for Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell.
Jeter and Fraser-Pryce had requested not to be quizzed about doping, ahead of yesterday's Herculis meeting in Monaco.
When they were, following a couple of benign questions, the pair responded by abruptly getting up and leaving.
In the latest development, Olympic discus thrower Traves Smikle became the latest Jamaican athlete to confirm he was being investigated in a doping scandal. Smikle said that his urine sample at the Jamaica trials last month revealed an adverse analytical finding. He said he did not knowingly or willfully take any banned substance and he has requested an analysis of the B sample.
Australian hurdler Sally Pearson, American high jumper Brigetta Barrett and sprinter Justin Gatlin did not shy away from discussing the issue of doping.
"You have to make sure that you're responsible for what's going into your body and who's around you," said Gatlin, a former Olympic and world champion who was suspended for four years after testing positive for a banned substance in 2006.
"It's just life. That's one thing I learnt when everything happened with me," Gatlin said. "You got to deal with it. You got to move forward. The one thing I learnt about track and field is: It's not about what you say, it's about what you do."
"Getting back in shape was really the toughest part," Gatlin recalled. "I came back like 20 pounds overweight."
Barrett, who won the US trials with a personal best of 2.04 and is the Olympic runner-up, clearly hadn't expected the string of doping test announcements in recent weeks.
"You're always shocked by the news when your 'heroes' have fallen," Barrett said. "It does feel like a shock because I didn't expect those people to have a positive test.
"It's disappointing that these things happen," she said. "But at the same time, I guess it's good that whatever doping agency is doing it is keeping on top of the athletes."
Jeter and Fraser-Pryce had requested not to be quizzed about doping, ahead of yesterday's Herculis meeting in Monaco.
When they were, following a couple of benign questions, the pair responded by abruptly getting up and leaving.
In the latest development, Olympic discus thrower Traves Smikle became the latest Jamaican athlete to confirm he was being investigated in a doping scandal. Smikle said that his urine sample at the Jamaica trials last month revealed an adverse analytical finding. He said he did not knowingly or willfully take any banned substance and he has requested an analysis of the B sample.
Australian hurdler Sally Pearson, American high jumper Brigetta Barrett and sprinter Justin Gatlin did not shy away from discussing the issue of doping.
"You have to make sure that you're responsible for what's going into your body and who's around you," said Gatlin, a former Olympic and world champion who was suspended for four years after testing positive for a banned substance in 2006.
"It's just life. That's one thing I learnt when everything happened with me," Gatlin said. "You got to deal with it. You got to move forward. The one thing I learnt about track and field is: It's not about what you say, it's about what you do."
"Getting back in shape was really the toughest part," Gatlin recalled. "I came back like 20 pounds overweight."
Barrett, who won the US trials with a personal best of 2.04 and is the Olympic runner-up, clearly hadn't expected the string of doping test announcements in recent weeks.
"You're always shocked by the news when your 'heroes' have fallen," Barrett said. "It does feel like a shock because I didn't expect those people to have a positive test.
"It's disappointing that these things happen," she said. "But at the same time, I guess it's good that whatever doping agency is doing it is keeping on top of the athletes."
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