Usain Bolt

I ask Mr. Werenka why he believes that Usain Bolt is juicing? So, he broke a record, ok he broke a record pretty easily; but isn't that what happens to records? Are they not meant to be broken? Especially with increased knowledge on training, nutrition, and natural evolution of humans. Usain Bolt (6’5”) is bigger than Michael Johnson (6’1”), in fact he is naturally taller than almost all of his competitors. Yes, we have this preconceived notion that smaller more powerful sprinters are faster. Why not a taller individual with the same turnover. Bolt is beat out of the blocks in most races. Analysts say he can drop a tenth of a second if he improves his starts. That is all beside the point however.

Let us take a look at Bolt. First as I said he is taller than everyone else. This leads to a much larger stride length which does increase speed. Second, he is not more muscular looking, in fact he appears to have a much less muscular build than many of his competitors, which lends me to believe that he is not juicing. Next, Bolt did not come from thin air. When Bolt was 15 he won the world junior championships in the 200. He was the first junior to go sub 20.0 in the 200. This lends weight to the fact that Bolt has been putting up good times for a long time. Bolt was 6'5" by the time he was 15, he is a physical freak. Most importantly he has tested clean every time he has been tested; before the Olympics, after the Olympics, before the worlds, after the worlds and every time in between. He is the fastest runner in the world he is probably the most tested runner in the world as well. He passes all these tests under extreme scrutiny every day. If the IOC and governing track bodies say he is clean so will I.

As a fan I look at athletes in awe not in a skeptical manner. I want to be impressed that is why I watch. Just because we have been let down in the past does not mean we can't look for hope in the future. Call me innocent, naive, or anything else. I come from a background where you are not guilty by association. If you continue to prove to me that you are clean than I will believe you. Testers get caught everyday, Usain Bolt is not one of them. Get down off your high horse and enjoy sports as you once did, with a youthful enthusiasm and state of awe for what talented individuals can do, it will put the fun back in to sports. In today's society enough things can make you cynical, depressed and stone hearted, don't let sports be one of them.

Just a note Michael Johnson lowered the 200m record by .39s (19.72 to 19.33); Usain Bolt only managed to lower it 0.14s (19.33 to 19.19). If Michael Johnson could lower it by almost 3 times what Bolt did and be considered clean why can’t Bolt?