Christine Ohuruogu cut through the high emotions over sport’s security issues to declare herself ready and willing to defend her Commonwealth title in Delhi in October.
Talk of a boycott by England competitors because of the terrorist threat in India gained pace after the killing of three men in an ambush on the Togo football team in Angola last week. However, the Olympic 400 metres champion refused to join the athletes counting themselves out of the Commonwealth Games.
“No one wants to send people into an area that’s unsafe, but I hope the Indian authorities make the necessary preparations,” she said. “I’m sure they will because not to provide sufficient security measures would be negligent.
“I don’t think that will happen because it would be a huge embarrassment if they don’t have what’s required. We had the same thing before the Athens Olympics [in 2004] when there was a bomb threat and then there was talk of a boycott before Beijing [in 2008]. You have to be sensible and not jump on the bandwagon and say, ‘I’m not going.’ ”….Read More
one of my favourite quartermilers i hope il get a chance 2 see her compete after injury
I’m sorry Minnie I have to dissagree on this one. there is no reason for any athlete skippin three doping tests in one season knowing that she risks a 2 year ban, unless she was hiding something. this girl missed 3 straight doping tests in 2005 and was banned untill 2007. not a good look on her.
well waynef i happen 2 like her its not everything that i post every1 is going 2 agree on i dont know her history but i like her & i think im free 2 express that & in the same way persons can defend crawford on whether hes clean or not if she has been caught then thats different like i said i dont know her history but i happen 2 like her
I agree with your right to like her. and I like her as well. I just happen to have questions as to why someone would jeopardise their job and reputation like that. and without a medical reason.
waynef iv always respected ur posts because u seems 2b not just a pst athlete but u tend 2 have more info on these athletes & il always give u props 4 that so tell me wats the scoop on her i know she has been out this season so wats the story i assumed it was injury because she wasnt her usual awesome self
Waynef, I’m with you. I really like this girl. I like the fact that even with 2 championship wins, she is always the underdog and wins her races from behind and with heart.
So I too didn’t understand why she would jeopardize her career by missing 3 drug tests. 1 is iffy but understandable, 2 is really pushing it. But 3 is begging for suspicion. After all, who misses three tests in one season unless they had something to hide. The funny thing is that I think the 3rd miss really was an innocent mistake, but should there have been an innocent mistake knowing that there were two other misses? The day she missed her third test, she did place dead last in her race, so if she was on something, it certainly wasn’t helping.
no one is telling me when this occured i ask again when did this occur & was it this season i was really under the impression that she was recovering from an injury. stacy why cant you give her the same benefit of the doubt the same one you gave crawford. what i want 2 know is are you basing your judgement on the fact that he gave up his medal? what about the fact that his performance has dropped i know u say his age could b a factor. but then i was under the impression that she was recovering from an injury this season. my reasons 4 asking is not being confrontational i just want 2 know what the issue is with her & on what basis she should not also b viewed with objectivity i tend 2 like her for the same reasons u do
Stacy as for Christines dead last finish on the day of missing a doping test. that would not be an unusual occurence. if anything it would only make her appear more guilty. Remember back in the 1980’s the IAAF only tested the top 3 finishers (medalists) from each race at high profile meets. As you can imagine, when athletes started having their medals stripped for doping, it was often passed on to athletes that escaped doping control by virtue of the fact that they failed to medal. Naturally, the rules had to be changed. IAAF started testing the top six finishers. with the possibility of testing anyone else on a random basis some time in the 90’s . If I’m an WADA, and I’m trying to tests an athlete at random. the best place to catch them is at a track meet. you show up at their training facilityand they can easily hide out until you’re gone.
On the other hand, If I’m Christine Ohuruogu, and I know that my body is not ready to pass a doping test, I would have to exercise one of two options. Option #1: be a no-show at the competition (very popular option amongst doping athletes). Option #2: she can finish out of the top six. everyone knows that Ohurogu is more than capable of finishing in the top six, especially when she’s not competing at a major international championships. Unfortunately for Christine WADA agents love to do random tests at track meets as well as training facilities. As for Minnies question about when this occured. the first missed doping test was in october of 2005 (out of competition), the second and third tests were in June and July of 2006. those were both supposed to by just random tests. According to WADA rules. all athletes that compete in IAAF sponsored events have to provide WADA with information about where they will be for 1 hour each day. it is up to WADA agents to then show up unannounced. 1 hour a day to notify wada is not too much. these athletes train every day, sometimes two or three times a day. depends on the type of training. all they have to do is say WADA, see me at my scheduled training time. chances are still 1 in 20 or 30 that they will actually show up. I’m not saying she is doping, I’m not saying she cheated Shericka williams, and Sanya Richards’s of better Medals in 2008, or Novlene Williams-mills in 2007 WC (Osaka). I’m just saying thats not a good look for her. I could really go on and on about this. Even in Britian she was chastised in the Media, as recently as 2008 after Beijing, and handed a lifetime ban from competition under British Flag, like Dwain Chaimbers. that is routine and in accordance with a British by-law. Christine had to appeal to high courts twice, and puiblicly threaten to go run for another Country before Britain reduced her ban and allowed her to compete in Beijing. Dwain Chaimbers also has her to thank for being allowed to represent Britain in 2009 at Berlin WC. Once Britain compromised the rules for her in 2007, it became a matter of time for Dwain Chaimbers.
waynef i take your point but what happended 2 her this season i was under the impression that she was injured far down in the season & did not recover in time to prepare for these championships. the other question i would pose is if she was not clean (just supposing in a very objective stance & not in the least defending her) why did she even take part in the event why didnt she fake an injury. another question, suppose she was injured? like i said i try 2b objective until some1 or an event can definitely answer those what if questions. but my final analysis about this girl is that there are some grey areas which one cannot definitely say she is or isnt cheating if you guys definitely & absolutely felt that she was cheating you guys would not have the slightest tolerance
Christine would’ve had to take a chance no matter what decision she made. Hypothetically speaking, If she faked an injury, that would be too risky. Too many other people would become involved, and have to go along with an injury, and the news papers would follow that story. as for Tolerance. Even her own british media and Law Makers faught her bitterly over the missed tests. she had to appeal two hard fought decisions before she was reinstated. i’m sure that other athletes as well as British sporting bodies remain suspiscious of her. they’re just trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. she now has no more chances left.
Minnie, if you read my posts, I have given her the benefit of the doubt. I have a belief that unless and until an athlete tests positive, they are at the very least entitled to the benefit of the doubt. What I did say in relation to Crawford was that his decreased times could be explained by the increase in his age. I also said that it was an honorable thing to do to give up his medal (something that Walter Dix didn’t do) and honorable people don’t cheat. Waynef then pointed out that he may not be the same person now as he was back then. So yes, for me, until he tests positive, he has the benefit of the doubt. As does Christine.
What I did say is that knowing very clearly what the rules are, how in the world do you miss three tests? especially knowing that it will arouse suspicion and that you will get banned. The British media crucified her in the press and even stated that she stole the WC medal away from that Nicola girl in 2007. That wasn’t me, that was her own country. The belief in Britain at the time was that she should be banned for life as per BOA and UK Athletics rules.
You asked what happened and here it is, she was supposed to be at a certain place for a competition on the said day. Apparently, some school scheduled an event at that venue and her competition was moved to Crystal Palace, but she did not notify the drug testers of the change. The rules state that the athlete can phone, text, or email a venue change up to one minute prior to the scheduled time. She did not do that. And for the life of me (with two other missed tests) it makes no sense that she didn’t let them know.
When the BOA then banned her for life, she then threatened to run for Nigeria or another country unless they overturned the ban. The BOA then decided that since she didnt actually test positive for drugs, then her one year suspension was enough to cover her offenses.
As for your last question, it would not have mattered if she faked an injury. These are random tests. It no longer matters if she came in last, first or in between. She may not have known it, but the testers were going to test her that day no matter what. She failed to let them know that her venue had changed and therefore incurred a missed test, her third, and was suspended.
I said it before and I’ll say it again, given that you can inform the testers of a change of location within one minute of a set hour, and you are allowed to make that change via email, phone call, or even texting, that is an amazing amount of flexibility, why didn’t she just let them know of the change to Crystal Palace, especially knowing that she already missed two other tests. She has my support until she tests positive, but seriously, how irresponsible was that?
I agree with stacy that faking an injury would not have saved anyone from a random test, but for christine, finishing the meet race at the back of the pack would all but ensure that she did not get tested based on her finish. agian this is just my perspective.
Exactly. The only thing that would have prevented Christine from getting her random test that day was if she changed her stated venue and not advise the testers of the change, and that’s what happened.
i read your post stacy but i somewhat feel that although yes you gave her the benefit of the doubt there was still a grey area like waynef the tests was the issue. my take is iv never tried 2 pretend that i know everything & so thank you 4 the info it is sad though that 4 such a remarkable athlete this has 2b against her name. what do you think of her decision 2 train under mills? lastly i dont know that retuning a medal is honourable in his case mayb his conscience got the better of him we can do bad things which we regret later but then as youv said tht he also deserves the benefit of the doubt. thank u & waynef 4 the enlightenment & discussion i dont mind getting information because something tells me like myself ur not just track enthusiasts but actual past athletes like myself
What can I say Minnie. Game recognize game!……. You’re welcome.
Of course there was a gray area. To me they all have a gray area when the circumstances are iffy. Skipping 3 drug tests qualifies as iffy. I’m not going to ignore the facts just because I like her. But it doesn’t mean that I still don’t cheer for her to beat Sanya Richards when they are in a race together. I like her and am always disappointed when she doesn’t do well in a race.
I think her training under Mills is a great idea. Though I must confess that I don’t think Mills’ forte lies in the 400m. He seems to do wonders with athletes in the 100m and 200m. For the 400m she might have done better under Stephen Francis. But quite frankly, I don’t care who she trains under. I am just really happy to know that world class athletes seem to be treating Jamaica as the new place to be, which can only help the country. Not to mention, unlike people like Carl Lewis who seem to think that non-American runners were stealing training techniques when they train in the USA and then compete for their home countries, I can’t help but laugh at how his xenophobia and prejudices has helped to boost athletics and training programs in places like Jamaica.
I don’t know Crawford’s reason for returning his medal other than what he stated. But I do think that it is important to point out that at his age, and the new level of sprinting we are seeing with younger athletes, it is very unlikely that he will be getting another Olympic medal and he probably knew that and still gave his medal to who he thought was the rightful winner. Maybe Crawford isn’t an honorable person, but noone can deny that his actions were very honorable. He gets props for that in my book.
you no easy unu stacy i thought i was the only one who has cheered 4 her 2 beat sanya i think & no one can take that away from me that she chose the us over us because at the time the us was or so she thought the sprint mecca of the world (until the truth came out) if its not sherika then its christine who should beat her & that is why i said she is one of my favourite quartermilers apart from sherika obviously so im glad we share that view. i too think she wouldv done better under francis but im now wondering whether this camp is just temporary or for a prolonged period it would really step up her game. lastly yes we do have carl lewis to thank for his badmindedness for years our talented athletes would take up these scholarships abroad & get injured and burnt out because you have 2 honour the covenant of the scholarship so some of our really gifted athletes would disappear into obscurity case in point aneshia mclaughlin was a force @ girls champs & carifta unstoppable she took up a scholarship & no one heard about her until she came back to the country under francis wings. now dont get me wrong several athletes in the past have benefitted from attending college abroad but so many more have benefitted by staying home because they are not under the constant pressure to represent the university which they are attending
LOL. I guess we are both terrible. Nothing felt better than watching Shericka and Christine go past her in the Olympics.
lol cocky girl i hope & pray i get 2 witness it again she is after koch steriod driven record she may just smash it. i hope we have a killer girl 4 her next olympics i couldnt sleep when she won last year
my son want 2 hear me i can say no wrong about her she is indeed easy on the eyes