http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/apr/22/drugsinsport.athleticsLast weekend, in anticipation of an unfavourable result at St James' Park, I took the tried and tested ostrich method of arranging to be out of range of TV or radio so as not to have to witness Michael Owen's continued revival against my beloved red and whites. Instead I was cycling across the country from Whitehaven on the west coast, arriving in a desolate Sunderland about one hour after the final whistle. Even the seagulls looked liked parrots.
That may seem a little drastic but avoiding impending bad news is something most of us can identify with. Next month I'm off to walk part of the Great Wall of China and pay a pre-Olympic visit to Beijing and in doing so hope to similarly avoid the latest storm which is gathering over athletics. The latest episode of the ongoing Balco saga will see Marion Jones's former coach Trevor Graham back in court and one of the prosecution witnesses giving evidence against him is Angel Guillermo Heredia.
Reports in the US have suggested that both Heredia and Graham will be naming names. The former Olympic champion Maurice Greene has already been mentioned as one of those likely to be involved which in itself, if found to be true, would leave the world of sprinting in complete and utter disarray.
The publication which we all use as the statistical bible has always had separate sections in the all-time lists for disallowed marks for things such as wind assistance, altitude or suspect distances and even hand timing. Now it also has a separate list of those marks eradicated because of doping suspensions.
In the 100m it's a reminder of how the event has almost single-handedly ripped the sport apart. Justin Gatlin 9.77, Tim Montgomery 9.78, Ben Johnson 9.79 and of course Dwain Chambers 9.87, to mention just a few. Add in Marion Jones and others in the women's event and it only helps underline the fact that the quest to become the world's fastest man or woman seems to need more than talent and good coaching in many cases.
Now the long arm of the law can reach beyond any negative drug tests and point the finger at culprits from the past where the evidence is available. It is going to get ugly. Already accusations and counter-accusations have begun to fly. As the Observer reported at the weekend, Greene's former friend and training partner Ato Boldon has reportedly written to their former coach John Smith expressing disgust at his alleged actions and distancing himself from the group he was part of for so long.
But what and who can you believe? Athletes have always been quick to accuse rivals of duplicity when failing to realise that in bedrooms along the corridor their own names were being spoken of in similar terms. Any performance slipping into the top-10 all-time list has always been met with admiration and suspicion. In 1997 I was flying back to Tyneside after the Stockholm grand prix meeting in July. The star had been Boldon who had a stunning double victory in the 100m and 200m with only about an hour between races, considered to be the quickest double in one evening, 9.95 for the 100 and 19.82 for the 200m with Greene hot on his heels.
That night Carl Lewis ran an anchor relay leg as part of his farewell tour. He pulled me aside in the airport and without naming names he accused current athletes of diminishing the achievements of the likes of myself and Seb Coe and most importantly himself. He was prepared to go public, he had evidence he said. I reminded him that many had pointed the finger at his own performances which he dismissed out of hand.
His anger must have subsided and in due time his own name did surface some years later in an alleged cover-up by the US Olympic Committee. The name-calling now looks likely to reach new heights, this time under oath. It is to be welcomed but it will certainly not be enjoyable. To continue the ornithological analogy I began with, the vultures will be hovering over athletics next month and I'll be happy I'm not around to watch their easy pickings.
