Covid-19 may have made things worse, says Ross Tucker, a South African sports scientist.Since the effects of PEDS last much longer than the drugs stay in an athlete's body, elite competitors are subject to testing even when they are not competing.But travel bans and lockdowns have disrupted that system. Between covid-19, the fallout from Russia and a steady drip of other doping cases, every performance in Tokyo―even those by clean athletes―will take place under a faint but ineradicable cloud of suspicion.As Kyle Chalmers, an Australian swimmer who won the 100 metres freestyle at the 2016 summer Olympics in Brazil, put it last year, "I can probably not trust half the guys I'm competing against."No one knows how many athletes still dope. But a glance at the headlines suggests it is far from rare.In 2019 Nike, a sportswear company, closed down its much-publicised Oregon Project, a training camp for elite runners, after Alberto Salazar, the head coach there, was given a four-year ban for doping. (Mr Salazar is appealing.)Kenya is famous for the dominance of its middle-and long-distance runners. These days that reputation is looking tarnished.The Athletics Integrity Unit, which polices anti-doping in athletics, lists 68 Kenyan runners currently banned from competing, including Wilson Kipsang, a former Olympic medallist and world-record holder.
南非体育科学家罗斯・塔克表示，新冠疫情可能使情况变得更糟。由于兴奋剂的效力比一般药物在运动员体内停留的时间要长得多，所以不参加比赛的优秀运动员也要接受检测。但旅行禁令和封锁打乱了这一体系。在新冠疫情、俄罗斯的影响和其他兴奋剂事件的持续发酵下，东京奥运会上的每一场比赛――即便是无辜的运动员――都将笼罩在淡淡的但却无法消除的疑云之下。正如在2016年巴西夏季奥运会上获得100米自由泳冠军的澳大利亚游泳运动员凯尔・查默斯去年所说的那样，“我的竞争对手里有一半我都信不过。”没有人知道有多少运动员还在服用兴奋剂。但只要看一眼头条新闻就能知道这种情况屡见不鲜。阿尔贝托萨拉查曾是广受关注的精英跑步者训练营俄勒冈项目的主教练，2019年，在其因服用兴奋剂被禁赛四年后，运动服装公司耐克关闭了该项目。(萨拉查正在上诉。)肯尼亚以中长跑运动员的优势而闻名，如今这一声誉似乎已经受损。负责管理田径运动中反兴奋剂行为的田径廉政组织列出了68名目前被禁止参赛的肯尼亚运动员，其中包括前奥运奖牌得主、世界纪录保持者威尔逊・基普桑。
暂无注释
