Jessica calls on IAAF to strip drug cheat Chernova of 2011 gold medal

[Tuariki]

It is reported that Jessica Ennis-Hill is calling on the IAAF to strip Russian drug cheat Tatyana Chernova of the 2011 heptathlon gold medal.

And so they should because Chernova's performances from 15 August 2009 to 14 August 2011 were all annulled and therefore this meant she had no qualifying mark to allow her to compete at Daegu.

To not strip her of that gold medal would send all the wrong signals. For the same reason the IAAF should make sure that Noddy Upchuck the Belarus druggie should not be allowed anywhere near Brazil next year.

[gh]

as i understand it, the IAAF is taking issue with many of the "selective" Russian bans, but WADA/CAS has to rule on that, not them.

[Gabriella2]

It must be infuriating for Jess; she lost bronze in Osaka due to Blonska, who was competing between bans, and then the gold in Daegu to Chernova who should not have been there. Her World Championship medal collection should really be two golds and a bronze, and not the gold, silver and fourth place it is. That makes a big difference to her overall legacy and, with regards to World Champs specifically, it would make her the third best ever (behind Kluft and Braun, but she would jump ahead of JJK and Barber)

[bruce3404]

Quite simply, any drug cheat should be stripped of every medal they ever won. The assumption should be "once a cheat, always a cheat". I believe in second chances, but the second chance begins with an athlete who has earned zero medals.

[26mi235]

And I would be very surprised if that rule could ever be enforced - too many legal routes to challenge it. The test reliability would have to be challengable in a court of law, most likely.

[bruce3404]

Guess we'll have to treat such athletes the same as many treat Barry Bonds' home run record....just ignore it/them. Not unlike many of the T&F records from the '80s that still stand.

[Tuariki]

And I would be very surprised if that rule could ever be enforced - too many legal routes to challenge it. The test reliability would have to be challengable in a court of law, most likely.

While you may well be right I would love to see someone Coe? Bubba? Bach? Have the guts to try and push through a rule that would negate all results for the 5 years front the date of a positive drug test. I am sure that if all the major countries got together on this in terms of enshrining this in their own legislations it could be achievable. The negation is the punishment and not a declaration that one was on PEDs for the past 5 years. And therefore a greater incentive to not even try PEDs.

[26mi235]

So, what do you consider to be the High Jump record? Almost no one here ignores 2.45 but JS is a two-time loser, I think.

[Tuariki]

I consider the record to be 2.45 because that is what it is. I don't play Aaronk games. However I would love to have the situation that would have seenhis performances negated because let's face it the guy was a cheat. Was he on PEDs when he did his 2.45m? Or got his gold? Don't know. Don't care. His name on the record books is a blight. Good chance he was on them though.

[JumboElliott]

There's selective ignorance as to which athletes failed drug tests. Merlene Ottey is considered a legend while Marion Jones is a pariah.

The same is true for Mary Slaney and Regina Jacobs. Slaney is still the bellwether female runner and Jacobs is damaged goods.

[Tuariki]

My sentiments apply to Barnes, Gatlin and the whole gamut of cheats across the international spectrum. As another example, if it wasn't for a guy from Belarus, and a Belarus compatriot from memory, Val Adams would probably be well on track to challenge the winning streak of Edwin Moses.

[26mi235]

Well, the Bio-passport does allow some of this retrospective look. I do think that anyone caught cheating should have all prior samples looked at with the modern tools, and in that case you could readily knock out some more cheats.

[JumboElliott]

The retroactive medal reassignment just proves how much of a lost cause people are pursuing.

[Tuariki]

The retroactive medal reassignment just proves how much of a lost cause people are pursuing.

Why is that Jumbo? While Val Adams and Adam Nelson would have preferred receiving their gold medals on the Olympic podium late is still a hell of a lot better than never.

[beebee]

The retroactive medal reassignment just proves how much of a lost cause people are pursuing.

Don't you have any empathy for people who legitimately worked their asses off but got completely jobbed by cheats?