Skeleton Racers Banned

Questions always arise for many  Canadian Olympic athletes for various games as to how they did, what they could have changed and if they are happy with their overall performance.

The past while many have questioned the status regarding “Doping and/or cheating” with Athletes from various countries and if the status of taking performance enhancing drugs will ever be completely eliminated?

Many are under the impression that cheating will continue to be a part of the Olympic games  and as tough as the IOC gets, the one’s involved in cheating will be one step ahead of the game, which is a major concern for the games.

If you get down to the issue of “cheating” and the Olympic games, no one can argue that it is a money issue or cash grab for the Olympic games, with major cities, major sponsor’s all putting up huge amounts of money, but for what?

If you watch the games and you see an ad for “tires” to use one sponsor, does that make you want to jump up and go to the nearest tire store and make a purchase/

Personally for me, that’s not the case as I watch both the Olympic and Paralympic Games for the talent of the individuals competing, which is the way it should be.

I am also one that feels there is far more focus put on the Olympic Games rather than the Paralympic Games and I know that I am not alone when it comes to this thought.

While one asks why, could it possibly be that the sponsors would rather be involved with the Olympics rather than the Paralympics and that is a choice only you can make?

Now we are hearing of yet another doping issue that involves Canadian Olympic Athlete’s, but not in the area of “doping or cheating”, but rather more of a positive note.

Sarah Reid was initially a ballet dancer for 11 years and wanted to try a new sport such as bobsleigh only due to the fact that she was unaware of what Skeleton was and went to a Bobsleigh camp in 2003 and after seeing what was required to be a solid Bobsleigh person she was more focused taking up Skeleton.

She made her Olympic debut in 2014 at the Sochi Olympic games as the reigning world Bronze Medalist, ending up as the top Canadian racer in Sochi with a seventh place finish, that was until the IOC reassessed the finish.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) handed down retroactive lifetime bans to three Russian sliders (Bronze medallist Elena Nikitina, Maria Orlova and Olga Potylitsyna) who finished ahead of her (Reid) in Sochi but were found guilty of doping.

She (Reid) naturally feels as though she has been cheated and mentioned “To be honest, yeah. It’s very hard not to be angry about it because for me that was my only Olympic experience.”

She continued “I competed in the sport for 11 years and my last two runs in the sport were my last two runs in the Olympics. So, to work so hard so long for something, to put everything into it and go about it in a way I knew was ethical, and to find out that’s not how everyone approached it, that’s really frustrating. I guess it kind of taints the experience in hindsight.”

Also in Sochi was Alberta real estate agent Mellisa Hollingsworth who if asked selected the wrong runners on the first of two race days of racing finish in 11th place overall.

She now moves to eighth and while she has concerns on this, but not with the stance taken by the IOC, she feels it’s a move forward with any future IOC events.

Many feel there are other athletes that have cheated, but were never caught and that not frustrates many, but also the Countries represented at the games.

One factor is that of a financial rewards and bonuses that were built into her sponsorship deals that she missed out on and could have received from various companies or organizations that paid thousands of dollars for medals at major races and what they lost can never be made up, which is sad.

“If you go back and look at lots of those different races, I’m sure there are some Russians in the mix. I’m thinking of times when I remember Olga or Elena ahead of me when I was on the podium or maybe they won a medal and I was fourth or fifth.

Cheaters never win and it’s the honest athletes that lose out and this is one that was caught far too late by the IOC!!!