Doping in sport is a topic USA Olympic athletes want spiked

THE US track and field team introduced a new sport to the Olympic program at its first media call in Rio. The sidestep.

NO drugs here officer.

The US track and field team introduced a new sport to the Olympic program at its first media call in Rio. The sidestep.

Given the fracas going on at the swimming this last week — and particularly the furore surrounding 19 year-old gold medallist Lilly King’s comment that twice-suspended American sprint star Justin Gatlin and other convicted drug cheats should not be allowed to compete in Rio — the world’s media were expecting some fireworks as they trouped into the Samba Room.

Would Gatlin stare down his accusers? Would Tyson Gay cry again when describing how he had been stripped of the silver medal he won in London after being “let down by people I trust”? And what about LaShawn Merritt? Would we get to hear, straight from the horse’s mouth, how his positive test was caused by indiscriminate use of a penis enlargement supplement?

Sadly no. There are 125 athletes on the US track and field team. Only three faced the media and, surprise, surprise, they weren’t those three.

Controversial athlete Justin Gatlin of USA runs during a training session at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

Alison Felix, Christian Taylor and Brittany Reece are all defending gold medallists. They are also all squeaky clean and, in the words of triple jumper Taylor, “role models”.

He always makes a point of returning to his old high school in Sandy Creek, Georgia, to show the kids that anything is possible. Long-jumper Reece has adopted her 11-year-old godson in order to give him the chance of a better life, and Felix, who won three gold medals in London, is disappointed but stoic about not having the chance to run her favourite event, the 200m, in Rio but as she says, “that’s sport.”

All three were friendly, open and full of charming life-affirming anecdotes, but ask them their views on the controversy going on over at the pool, and how it affects them and their track and field teammates, and be prepared to see a clean pair of sponsored spikes.

Not that there were any US journalists willing to venture down that track. There were only two questions on the drug issue, and they were both from Australians.

The first asked whether the US athletes agreed with the swimmers’ view that drug cheats should not be able to compete in the Games and, “if not, has it caused any division in the US team knowing that some of your track and field stars have previously tested positive and served suspensions?”

Rio day 5: Aussie gold in the pool

VIEW GALLERY

Taylor stepped forward to answer.

“I’m behind WADA, USADA and there’s a lot of different organisations that are doing their job, doing their diligence,” he said. “The rules are the rules. I don’t think there’s any division because we’re here to compete and that’s what we’re focusing on. Team USA is as strong as it’s ever been and I’m 100 per cent backing the anti-doping movement.”

In cricket terms it would have been called playing a straight bat. In baseball it’s known as “a bunt”.

Aussie journo number two stepped on to the mound, this time pitching one up to Felix.

Lilly King had said she didn’t want to compete against drug cheats and by that same principle, Gatlin should not be allowed to compete. How did Felix feel about competing against — and alongside — athletes who had tested positive to drugs?

“We’ll just focus on our performances,” she said. “I just feel at this point we don’t want to be caught up in anything else. You just have to focus on what we’ve got to do here.

“We’ve all competed, unfortunately, against people who have tested positive before, but we’re here at the Olympics now and just have to focus on putting on a great performance.”

And with that, the first Olympic sidestep event came to an end. USA: gold, silver and bronze.

Originally published as Doping in sport is a topic USA Olympic athletes want spiked