One sportsperson breaks his own world record. We applaud him. However, one more tests positive for drug after the recent positive tests of Gatlin and Landis.

The common excuse for taking drugs usually are - the competition is too tough, others might be taking it and I thus have no choice.. Well, you cheated and betrayed the trust of your fans. There is no justification. Sport is harmed in the process though and that is some thing which angers me more than any thing when any sports person is found out to have taken drugs.

A sports person might see that he isn’t that good and find himself in a position to not lose much. He might also suck into the pressure of maintaining past levels of performance or improve and might be willing to risk credibility in the pursuit as well. So he might take drugs. Sport suffers. For, the heroes do not remain heroes any more. Doubts may be cast over genuine heroes who do not take drugs as well. The worst effect is a portion of people not following a specific sport or sports in general as a direct impact of sports persons being found out.

A sad reality.

While the 100 metre world record battle is being followed, there is another less glamarous event where the world record is being broken and reclaimed - women’s hammer throwing.

CNN Reports:

Russia’s Tatiana Lysenko reclaimed the world record in the hammer throwing 77.41 meters at the Znamensky memorial international athletics meeting in Russia on Saturday…

Lysenko had previously held the record of 77.06m which she set in Moscow last July. Romania’s Mihaela Melinte previously dominated bettering the mark three times between 1998 and 2005.

The rivalry between Lysenko and Khanafeyeva is expected to continue during the European championships in Gothenburg, Sweden from August 6-13.

Hammer throwing as a sport has a fascinating history. Hammerthrow.com traces it:

Legends trace it to the Tailteann games held in Tara, Ireland, about 2000 D.C., and tell of the Celtic hero Cuchulainn who gripped a chariot wheel by its axle, whirled it around his head, and threw it father than did any other mortal. Wheel hurling was later replaced by throwing a boulder attached to the end of a wooden handle. Among the ancient Teutonic tribes forms on hammer throwing were practiced at religious festivals honoring the God Thor.

In school, each person used to enter into 4-5 events for the intra-school event. So I did put my name in for hammer throwing a few times as well. In case you are wondering, I never won an arm wrestling match - let alone a hammer throwing contest.

Maybe I should just stick to watching the world cup!

Anju falls short. Even the brainy chess guys are not winning. Indian sport continues to see an upward trend while all this happens, especially football.

Priya Saini at Economic Times writes:

Indian football is taking on glitzy hues as more and more corporates are coming on board as sponsors. It would seem outrageous that a sport in which India is ranked so low, is seeing major Indian TV networks bidding some ridiculous amounts for its TV rights and corporates making a beeline for sponsorships.

The piece is a must read if you want to know more on the recent Indian football trends. I had touched briefly on Indian football here. There is huge potential for growth in football (else why would it be the most popular game in the world!) and the scenario for India is no different. A few wins can propel the growth of the game very, very quickly.

Sports magnifies every thing. Every moment inside the sporting arena is looked at and talked about with far greater importance than necessary. The magnifying process also means that terms are used far more charitably than they should. Great is one such over used term. Even the most miserly will agree that Hicham El Guerrouj was a great. I use was because he has announced his retirement. I will not go over the records and accomplishments as they can be found easily on the internet.

From BBC:

“For 16 years, I’ve done sports. Now I want to start a new life. I will return to another world whose horizons I do not know.”

The human aspect of El Guerrouj struck you more than his athletic accomplishments. This is why it was poignant that he cried when he announced his retirement. All sports men and women face this predicament at some point of their careers. For all their lives, they have strived hard to increase effectiveness that extra bit to ride over the rest of the competition. Once sponsors come to back you, the only worry is how I am going to improve performances to leave a mark over contemporaries and in the process, even leave an imprint on history.

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Justin Gatlin loses his 100 metres record because, apparently, there was a statisticial error.

CNNSI reports:

Gatlin was timed at 9.76secs at an IAAF GP meeting in Doha on May 12, a mark one-hundredths of a second faster than the existing best set by Asafa Powell in 2005.

But the IAAF said that the actual timing for the American was 9.766seconds which should have been rounded up to 9.77.

Asafa Powell, whose record Gatlin broke, had said back then that the record was only on loan.

I am sure even he didn’t anticipate getting it back so early!

Maybe a record shouldn’t be conferred before it has been statistically verified if the difference is close enough to cause an impact. At least a ridiculous situation like right now for Gatlin can be avoided thus.

The 100 metre world record has been broken by Justin Gatlin. Gatlin overcame the mark of Asafa Powell (9.77) which stood for 11 months. See here for the progression of the 100 metre men’s world record.

I was reading an article a few years ago which wondered how much the world record can be broken. For example, we know that no human can ever run down 100 metres in say 7 seconds. Where is the end to the 100 metre world record, if at all?

The amazing thing is that the world record keeps getting broken. Sport teaches us to think positive, aim big and keep growing. World records are milestones which speak about these charecterstics of sport itself.

Justin Gatlin is very young at 24. He has already accomplished a lot, as Gatlin says:

I am the best of the best because I am the Olympic champion, the world champion and now the world record holder..

Asafa Powell, whose record Gatlin broke, is just 23. These two athletes promise a lot. Few others may join in the party in the near future.

Excitement and drama will always chase the 100 metres. This, after all, is the world stage.

Update: Powell says that record is only on loan. Interesting!

Kenya’s Rober Cheruiyot has won the Boston Marathon in record time. He became the 14th Kenyan to win the marathon since 1991. See the full list here. The women’s event was also won by a Kenyan, Rita Jeptoo.

The Boston Marathon is the opening marathon of the marathon season, known as the World Marathon Majors. See the official site here.

From Wikipedia:

The World Marathon Majors is a championship style competition that will start in 2006 including the New York City, Boston, Chicago, London and Berlin marathons. The championship will also include Olympic and world-championship marathons. Athletes who compete in the delegated marathons will receive points for each race (1st 25; 2nd 15; 3rd 10; 4th 5 and 5th 1). Their four best performances over a two year period will be counted and the leading man and woman will both win $500,000. Each two year period will overlap with the first covering 2006 and 2007 while the second series will cover 2007 and 2008.

Where are my track shoes!

More than 150 Indian Bloggers have joined The Blank Noise Project to highlight the harassment of women on Indian streets. Why should any one have to bear indignity because of the gender?

I have had my women friends speak on harassment, leering they have to go through. Not being a woman, I am not the right person to speak from personal experience on the issue. Only a woman can truly express how she feels on the issue.

I am all for equality though and in that vein, am strongly behind the intentions of the cause. I would like to highlight on the state of equality in sport in general taking this opportunity. Most sports have a far less following for the women’s game compared to the men’s game. Tennis, athletics apart how many games can you think of where you can recount names of women sports people? Do they try less or are the games less interesting to watch?

Why is there hardly a following for Women’s football, cricket, basketball, et all? Apart from the lack of general interest of people, the participation of women is also far behind because of society at large. Indian, Pakistani women are discouraged to play in the sun as it is apparently going to cause their skin to become darker, hence ugly. People don’t want to marry dark women. White skin is supposedly more  beautiful.  India does not have the WNBA but the Women’s Railways Basketball team has just as dedicated and sincere players.

Most of those who do manage to play the game have to retire way before they reach their prime. Pressure from parents and society to marry is too much to resist beyond a point. These problems are specifically worse in the subcontinent. When sports people sacrifice marriage, kids in many countries, in the subcontinent such bold decisions are looked down upon rather than being applauded.

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Kajsa Bergqvist, two time world champion, broke the 14 year old world record of Heike Henkel by jumping 2.08 metres. Henkel was there in the crowd to see it as well!

Another centimetre added to the world pole vault record and she says:

I don’t know how high I can jump, maybe 5.10 or even 5.15. I just don’t know my potential

It is the 14th time the 23 year old has broken the record and the slower she reaches her potential, the better it is for her. Why? because the Olympic champion receives a $50,000 bonus each time she breaks a world record. So whats the great hurry!

Sergei Bubka beat the record 35 times. And she has set herself to beat that number.

25-14= 21 times $50,000=$1,050,000!

If that comes along with the olympic medals, why not!