Something in the Water?

I know this is easy for me to say, but there's something funny about all those Jamaican sprinters.

Usain Bolt crushed two world records - including Michael Johnson's record in the 200 meters that many thought may never be broken. In a headwind. Two-thirds of a second faster than anyone else on the track at the time. His performance has been super-human.

Then there's the Jamaican women, sweeping the medals in the 100 meters and winning gold and bronze in the 200. That's five out of six medals in those two events.

Maybe it's just the age we live in but that kind of performance from a relatively poor country with only 2.65 million people makes me think twice about crowning Jamaican runners as the best of all-time. Or maybe it's the fact that Jamaica opted out of the Caribbean Regional Anti-Doping Organization. Or that it's not clear that their own anti-doping authority, the Jamaican Anti-Doping Comission is even operational.

Off-season drug testing for Jamaican athletes can be described as minimal at best. The off-season is when true fitness gains are made by athletes, while in-season workouts are designed to keep the athlete's body from breaking down due to regular competition. So if Jamaicans are doping in the off-season they are likely benefitting from it, but no test in Beijing is going detect it.

...and I will point out that the braces worn by Shelly-Ann Frazer and Melanie Walker do remind me somewhat of a certain disgraced American sprinter...I'm just sayin'