One of the joys of being a sports fan is watching some unknown athlete rise to the top of his sport. But just as agonizing is to watch that same athlete fall from the heights of success.
Like many fans, I've been following the sudden rise and fall of cyclist Floyd Landis over the past few weeks. And like many fans, I am just as stunned and saddened by the news of his failed drug test after Stage 17 of the Tour de France when he had made such a remarkable comeback. Here at last, I thought, was an athlete we could all believe in. I wasn't alone in embracing the cyclist as the new American sports hero.
As I waited for the results of his B sample, I secretly hoped that this was all one big misunderstanding, that there was some reasonable explanation that Landis' testosterone level was so high, producing a positive result when all his previous test results were normal. But when the B sample results not only confirmed the results of the A sample, but showed evidence of a synthetic form of testosterone, let's just say, the bloom fell off the rose. Those are facts you can't ignore. I hate to admit I was wrong about this guy, but it is obvious he was caught cheating. Question is, why wasn't it found out with the previous tests taken earlier in the Tour de France?
Landis does have 10 days to respond to the second positive result to the World Anit-Doping Agency. If his explanation is not accepted, Landis will likely lose the Tour de France title and face a possible ban from the sport. He will be the first cyclist to lose the Tour de France because of doping.
It is ironic that Landis' situation occurred the same week as story of sprinter Justin Gatlin, which only suggests how widespread doping may be in the sports world. The implications of this cannot be overlooked. Yes, Landis will suffer a setback professionally. It also shows that the sport of cycling has some more house cleaning to do.
But even more troublesome is the worldwide view of American sports. This makes us look really, really bad. Can any athlete or coach be trusted?
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