Nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis recently opened a can of worms with his claim that the Jamaican drug-testing program is not up to standard and needs to be tightened. Although Lewis didn’t point any fingers, many believed he was indirectly accusing Usain Bolt of being on the juice.
There is no doubt a large number of athletes at the Games were on some sort of performance-enhancing drugs. The problem is you can’t test for new strains of these drugs, which are constantly being developed for athletes looking for an edge.
Usain Bolt could have been on the juice, but it seems very unlikely this was the case. He has sustained his incredible performance over a long period of time and his body shape has remained consistently lean over the years. Moreover, if Lewis was so concerned about the Jamaican drug-testing program shouldn’t he have raised his concerns at some point prior to the Olympics?
I don’t have a problem with commentators sharing their insight, but I can’t help feeling suspicious of the incentive behind Lewis’ comments. Lewis, arguably the best sprinter ever, after Bolt, is acting like a disgruntled champion whose status has been threatened.
Bolt’s response was understandable. ”That was really sad for me when I heard the other day what he was saying. It was upsetting. I’ve lost all respect for him. All respect.”
