The shadow of drugs in athletics

Greg Jericho again excels, this time with an article, Doping's shadow looms large over athletics, where he looks at the legacy of doping on the athletics records books.

The long-term impact of doping during the 1970s and 1980s is greater on women's athletics than it is on men's because doping on women has a greater physiological impact. Thus, while a man might break a world record through doping, his time or distance will not be as far ahead of a clean athlete as would the respective woman cheat over her clean competitors.

Thus the world records set by women during the 1980s, when doping was rampant and out-of-competition testing non-existent, remain on the books and for the most part far beyond the reach of contemporary athletes.

After reading the article I think I now understand why Sally Pearson won the International Association of Athletics Federations Female Athlete of the Year.