2008 Olympics: Prospects of New Athlete Doping Scandals

I can still remember as a child watching on television the blanket news coverage when the fastest man in the world, Canadian 100 meters Olympic Games gold medalist, had been caught taking steroids.

It was almost like from that point onwards, the Olympic Games lost its innocence.

Pretty much ever since, drug cheats have been caught and weeded out of the system, some have even been named and shamed after being caught at Olympic Games.

Yet still, as recent events regarding Marion Jones show, athletes can cheat the system and get away with it.

It's just a matter of knowing what to take and when to take, how much to take, and how to readjust and come down after releasing it from one's system, without it affecting an athlete's performance.

I've got absolutely no doubt that a number of athletes that will participate at this year's Olympic Games will be doing so "juiced", or with some form of illegal drug aiding their performance.

It's almost as though so many athletes are doing it these days, an up-and-coming athlete has no choice but to "get with the program" if they want to have any hope of winning a medal.

Having said this, because blood testing is not yet permitted in Olympic competition, there will be many athletes, some medal-winning athletes no doubt, who will cheat the system and get away with it.

The prospects for a new athlete doping scandal arising during the 2008 Olympics is there, but pretty much it would have to be a really dumb athlete to get caught, especially at the granddaddy of all sporting events.

Systematic doping is widespread, and so sophisticated now, that an athlete can be "juiced" and still avoid detection.

The ones who may get caught will be from the poorer nations, who can't afford the sophisticated, new-age doping products available, and aren't that street smart in getting away with it.

If those athletes get caught, or any athlete that gets caught for that matter, and automatic lifetime ban must ensue.

The current edict is for an automatic two-year ban for a first offense.

However, if you take a 26 year-old athlete in the prime of their career, they get caught with drugs in their system, you give them a two-year ban, they can still return to active competition at 28 and enjoy a stellar athletics career.

The only way to hit back at drug cheats is make the penalties as harsh as possible: an automatic lifetime ban is the one of the only solutions.

Another solution to the problem is to allow blood testing on athletes before and after competition.

It's the only way to track new-age undetectable drugs, and automatically a number of drug cheats around the world will be found, named and shamed.

It's the only way to regain the credibility that the Olympic Games lost back in 1988.

To sum up, there is every chance of a new doping scandal arising at this year's Olympic Games, but there's just as much chance that there won't be a scandal at all.

What isn't up for debate is that there will be "juiced" athletes participating at these Games, it's just a case of whether they are found out or not.