Cram is positive about the positive
Rashid Ramzi - cheat exposed
The well documented downfall of Olympic champion Rashid Ramzi casts yet another shadow for many. For some it brings delight that the fight against doping is still being fought. Take Steve Cram. He commentates on these things and waxing lyrical about Ramzi has never come easy for the BBC man.
Writing in his Guardian blog Crammie says that Ramzi’s recent success’ on the track have never been easy to swallow and the Bahrain runner
has been a source of nagging discomfort in the past few years.
Why? Well peaks and troughs are part and parcel of every endurance runner’s running endeavours. Form comes and goes, circumstances dictate that you will have your off days, in training and racing. Problem was that Ramzi had more than most, and his fluctuation was so dramatic that he courted doubt from many quarters. Cram concludes:
Cynicism can be a lazy standpoint but every now and then it is vindicated in such a way that one cannot help a little smile that says I told you so.
Perhaps this should be a watershed for the likes of Cram, a time for current champions and former greats to put their weight behind new initiatives to stop the cheating.
The fight against drugs is not something that will not be won overnight, indeed some may say that it will never be won, but for the sake of future generations in sport the fight must go on and catching champions or also-rans can only ever be as good as the the subsequent bans that are dealt out.
Its is fine to castigate the cheats in this way, once cheating is proven, however we often forgive and forget. Two-year bans seems to be the norm these days, is this enough of a deterrent?
Alas, I have a feeling that this won’t be the last we see of Mr. Ramzi!
