Today, the IAFF announced that all results for Marion Jones would be annulled dating back to September 2000. Not only were all the results voided, she has been asked to return all of her prize money (I somehow doubt that will happen)To exacerbate the situation, they have recommended that her teammates who won a medal along with her in the Olympics, also return their medals.
Now I 100% agree that all Jones' individual result be voided, but what is the fair thing to do for her relay teammates? In all likelihood, they did not know of her drug use, so should they be punished as well?
In the end, I think the only fair thing is to strip them of the medals. Relays are team sports, and the unfortunate reality of team sports is that you either win as a team or you lose as a team. There is no concept of "half the team wins, the other half loses". While that may seem harsh, it is equally unfair to let it stand. What if you were the 2nd place team? Wouldn't you feel cheated out of your gold medal? What if you were the 4th place team and didn't even get a medal?
So what is the fairest thing to do?
2 comments:
So does this mean that the other teams will retroactively get a medal for winning?
I'm not actually sure. I think the teams do retroactively get a medal for winning, whatever place they would have ended up if it were not for Jones.
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