The world has recently been treated to the horrifying news that rhythmic gymnastics is embroiled in a
judging scandal. I'm shocked, shocked. And I thought all these "artistic sports" were on the up-and-up.
Well, you would at least think they would be better than all the doping that has been going on in several sports over the years. The obsessive-compulsives at Wikipedia have compiled an incomplete but extensive list of athletes who have been caught cheating using performance-enhancing drugs. And as the Olympic committee will sit soon to vote on whether to readmit wrestling, readmit baseball/softball, or admit squash, they might want to act in concert with their propaganda, and vote in a clean sport that does not have episode after episode of drug-fueled competition.
Check out the wiki list. You'll see plenty of wrestling and plenty of baseball, plus plenty of cycling and alarming amounts in swimming, a ton in weightlifting and other strength sports like shotput, and the world's favorite, futbol. On the comical side, there is a snooker player listed, wow.
And, in the long list of names, truth be told, there is one squash player. Karen Kronemeyer, of the Netherlands, got caught taking benzylpiperazine, a party drug that gives a bit of a euphoric high. Unlisted, but Stephane Galifi, former Italian #1, was also busted, for pot and possibly cocaine.
But these two busts don't make the sport corrupt, they only indicate there are a few partiers on the squash circuit who ought to tone it down a notch. They aren't bulking up on steroids or injecting hyper-oxygenated blood back in to their system.
Here's a run-down on the top 10 druggiest sports....
Yet you can bet that one it comes down to decision time at the Olympic committee meeting in September, will there be any hesitation in voting in wrestling or baseball/softball, based on their thoroughly corrupted past? I doubt it. The IOC talks the talk but they most definitely do not care about setting an example.
