IF THE MAIN protagonists stick to the script — and few expect anything else — double Olympic champion Usain Bolt will go head-to-head with Justin Gatlin, twice banned for doping offences, in the final of the men’s 100m at the World Athletics Championships in Beijing at 2.15 this afternoon.
The narrative leading up to today’s final has been very much good versus evil; Bolt, the fastest man in history, versus Gatlin — running faster now aged 33 than he did as a 24-year old.
While the Jamaican’s best days appear to be behind him, struggles with hamstring injuries have certainly reduced his ability to consistently produce fast times, Gatlin has run faster every single year since returning to action in 2010 following a positive test for testosterone.
Indeed, despite Bolt’s record in major championships, it is the American who goes into today’s race as the betting favourite even if the boos which greeted Gatlin’s appearance in the heats show he’s far from the crowd’s.
“People would love the drugs question to be black and white but it isn’t,” Richard Moore, author of ‘The Bolt Supremacy: Inside Jamaica’s Sprint Factory‘ told The42 this week.
“Gatlin is a two-time offender. The first one is what you might call a ‘minor’ doping offence — and there are certain excuses for that — but the second was testosterone which is as bad as it gets for a sprinter so people’s reservations about Gatlin are very understandable.
“We know there are lots of athletes competing who have never been caught. I mean, we’ve a pretty good idea they’re cheating but the doping problem is bigger than the number of people caught, so it’s a little bit absurd to put it all on Justin Galtin, but I do understand the reasons.
“Of course, that’s not to presume all his rivals are dirty either. I think one of the key things for me in writing the book was to keep an open mind and be willing to accept that exceptional performances are possible while clean.”
And if anyone is capable of producing exceptional performances, it is Bolt. However, Moore says that, taken in the context of his entire career, those performances — no matter how brilliant — have been consistent.
“One of the most interesting things I found with Bolt — and that’s not to come down on one side or the other — but his progression as an athlete has been consistent.
“Progression can be an indicator as to whether or not somebody is cheating or not but, the fact is, from the age of 15 to 21 his progression was pretty gradual. In fact, he actually compared pretty badly with most of his peers.
“Okay, over 100m he made rapid progress between 2007 and 2008 but 200m is really his discipline and over that distance his progression has been entirely steady and entirely believable.
“Some people will say he must have been on steroids at the age of 15 but I really don’t think so. Maybe we just have to accept that Bolt is, perhaps, the most talented sprinter of all time and there’s nothing more.”
The nature of athletics in general, but sprinting in particular, is that whoever wins today will face questions almost as soon as they cross the finish line.
That’s no bad thing says Moore but it’s important the narrative is driven by evidence rather that nod nod, wink wink journalism.
“It’s impossible to prove you’re clean. One of the things that impressed me most when writing the book was, in dealing with scientists, the way they were very much focused on facts and had no interest in rumour or innuendo.
“They weren’t looking to prove one theory or another, instead they were interested in finding the evidence wherever it led.
“I’d a piece that went up on The Guardian this week and, within minutes, below the line (the comment section) was just full of these false rumours and innuendo — and these are not from people in the know — but their words have real power even if they’re written by people sitting in their bedroom.
“So when journalists start engaging in that sort of speculation it has even more power and that’s why we have a responsibility to look for evidence rather than pass off rumours as facts.”
We’ll have a more in-depth interview with Richard Moore about The Bolt Supremacy and doping in sport on The42 later this week.
