Another of those unthinking reactions to a photograph – I believe that Usain Bolt is a clean athlete. At least, I believe he is not, has not, been on the cruder kinds of steroid dosages
Why do I believe this, when I have no specialist knowledge, not even much interest in the Olympics or athletics? Well nothing really, except for my obsession with, & observation of, shoulders
There is something very distinct about the musculature (& veins) of the shoulders (& the arms) of someone who has been abusing steroids
Something similar applies to the thighs as well, of which Bolt shows absolutely no sign either
His feet are very flat to the floor though – can you run with feet that are properly flat in the way that can get you turned down for army service? I guess it is more to do with not wearing shoes, at best flip-flops, a lot of the time back in Jamaica. Perhaps his feet are just very flexible, the secret of his easy lazy style
Jamaica has a long tradition of sprinting, with a well-developed system of competition right from school days. I may be misremembering, but I think Michael Holding could have gone down this route if he had not settled for being the most beautiful fast bowler ever
The comments of the coincidentally named Herb Elliott, the Jamaican team doctor, are very revealing. Jamaica now tries to keep its athletes at home, rather send them to the States where they face racism & the temptations of drugs
Funnily enough my first reaction of this type during these Olympics was on seeing a photo of the British pair who won the lightweight double sculls. Arms aloft. I just thought: Good they are not on drugs. We shall be spared the let down of a medal withdrawal.
Mind you, with the weight restrictions on crews for this event I suppose steroids would have as many disadvantages as advantages
Although I have trouble with the logic of banning professional athletes from using certain substances, I am glad if there will not be the big let down, people will not be made to feel that they simply wasted all that hope, emotion & excitement at witnessing a great event
As Simon Barnes wrote: I wanted to believe that it was not a fairy story, that it was not a drugged hallucination
