# Do you think Usain Bolt (Jamaican Sprinter, Record Shatterer), uses Performance Enhancing Drug? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 21, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226 "2009-08-21T18:55:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226/21 "2009-08-22T02:04:10Z")
I don’t care for track, but I like him and I hope he’s clean. At this point it’s hard to take any athlete at his word, but there’s been no evidence that Bolt is cheating and I don’t find the OP’s reasoning convincing. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226/22 "2009-08-22T02:50:59Z")
I assume anyone who wins a medal in the Olympics is taking performance enhancing drugs. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226/23 "2009-08-22T03:54:46Z")
I really really really really really _really_ hope not, because I [just as many]really[s] like Bolt, but if I was a betting man, I’d bet that he probably is. I think he’s a freak of nature and would win whether everyone was on or everyone was off, but unfortunately I think everyone or nearly everyone is on. Too many athletes I thought would never dope have been caught doping. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226/24 "2009-08-22T18:06:20Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I really really really really really _really_ hope not, because I [just as many]really[s] like Bolt, but if I was a betting man, I’d bet that he probably is. I think he’s a freak of nature and would win whether everyone was on or everyone was off, but unfortunately I think everyone or nearly everyone is on. Too many athletes I thought would never dope have been caught doping. Exactly. You can’t be clean and be **that** dominant in a sport that has a culture and history in which athletes are constantly searching for the next drug and next masking agent. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226/25 "2009-08-22T20:19:43Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Exactly. You can’t be clean and be **that** dominant Why not? Are you familiar with Edwin Moses? ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226/26 "2009-08-22T21:38:47Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > Why not? Are you familiar with Edwin Moses? Were many other top runners doping in Moses’ era? If so, I’d bet that he hid also. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226/27 "2009-08-22T22:48:12Z")
Upon what are you basing your speculation? If you aren’t familiar with arguably the most dominant performer in track in the last 50 years, then you have no leg to stand on, imho. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226/28 "2009-08-23T04:33:01Z")
Three things you need to understand, Philster: 1. It’s sudden, massive improvement that’s cause for suspicion, not an already-great athlete giving 100% when it matters the most. Why doesn’t anyone suspect Roger Federer of doping? Because he really is that damn good, it’s just more readily apparent when he’s gutting out a Wimbledon 5-set final. 2. It’s only suspicious if it can’t be explained any other way. Some red-hot college phenoms get so much uncritical praise and hype, they spend their first few pro seasons with their heads firmly planted up their butts. Only after lots of stupid blunders and missed opportunities and humiliations, a once-compliant fanbase getting increasingly hostile, and the realization that the clock is ticking, do they get serious. And once they actually live up to the hype, the results are incredible. (Shaquille O’Neal is the perfect example of this, and to a lesser extent Andre Agassi.) There are numerous greats who at one point didn’t understand the nuances of the game (Dan Severn), bit off more than they could chew (Michelle Wie), couldn’t handle the pressure (Agassi), didn’t get a chance to shine (Steve Young), or just plain got a raw deal (John Elway). Totally legitimate star turns happen all the time in sports. That’s one of the beautiful things about them. 3. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of having the right body. Konishiki, the original “meat bomb”, so unbelievably massive and powerful that most of his opponents didn’t have a clue how to beat him. Lance Armstrong and his dolphinlike lung capacity. Michael Phelps and his big hands, big feet, and natural buoyancy. Anyway, I seriously doubt that Bolt is doping, for reasons already mentioned. And in any case, as long as the tests keep coming up negative and no evidence turns up, I consider this a nonissue. And yes, I feel exactly the same way about Lance Armstrong. (Sheesh, French people ever get bored or what? 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226/29 "2009-08-23T04:46:50Z")
What :dubious:'s the hell out of me is that more athletes don’t actively speak out about steroids. Most of them will give half-hearted "_I_ don’t do them"s, or the hilarious _I’ve never tested postive_, but I hardly ever hear a pro athlete come out and say “Steroids are for cheaters and you’re a pussy if you use them,” etc. (the sole shining counter-example being BJ Penn, which is why he’s my favorite athlete.)\* Among the athletes and extreme hardcore fitness buffs I know and have met, the attitude seems to be either (A) I have _so many_ friends who do them that I’m not going to say anything bad about them, or (B) I do them and all anti-doping proponents are big meanies and help help I’m being oppressed. \*Granted I don’t pay much attention to mainstream sports so if there are guys out there saying this, please make me aware of them and I’ll be their biggest totally passive fan 😛 ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226/30 "2009-08-23T04:57:39Z")
I assume every pro athlete on the face of the earth is using PEDs. Specifically, HGH. If any pro athlete isn’t, s/he’s a fucking moron, IMO. I think banning PEDs is about as stupid as banning athletes from lifting weights or eating right. It makes absolutely no sense on a conceptual level. How many non-harmful OTC PEDs are banned by various leagues and committies? Can anyone form a cogent defense of that stupid policy? The existence of safe and legal PEDs also torpedos the argument that steroids and HGH should be banned because they’re bad for you and allowing them puts pressure on your peers to do something that’s bad for you. Bullshit! Safe and legal PEDs can bridge enough of that gap to make it a non-issue. What happens when a totally safe PED is developed that isn’t just not harmful, but is actually _good_ for you? The stupid anti-doping logic will ban that, too. It’s so ridiculous. Lift the bans on PEDs now. Let the whiners who cry about the purity of the game go watch little league. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226/31 "2009-08-23T05:01:13Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > …if there are guys out there saying this, please make me aware of them… Albert Pujols has stated that if he ever tests positive he will give back every cent that he’s earned. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226/32 "2009-08-23T05:09:05Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > If any pro athlete isn’t, s/he’s a fucking moron, IMO. Really??? Not just a regular moron? What about an athlete that believes that ingesting ped’s might be harmful to their kidneys or liver? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226/33 "2009-08-23T05:10:28Z")
I’d love to know what you think indicates his sudden improvement. In 2002 at age 16 he became the youngest ever gold medalist in World Junior Games and holds every 200m age record from 15 up, he has been breaking 20 for the 200 since he was 18 five years ago and he first broke the 100m record at only his fifth senior run at the distance. He is also famously “lacking in dedication” toward his athletics career. He is just that good. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226/34 "2009-08-23T05:13:58Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I assume every pro athlete on the face of the earth is using PEDs. Specifically, HGH. If any pro athlete isn’t, s/he’s a fucking moron, IMO. > > I think banning PEDs is about as stupid as banning athletes from lifting weights or eating right. It makes absolutely no sense on a conceptual level. How many non-harmful OTC PEDs are banned by various leagues and committies? Can anyone form a cogent defense of that stupid policy? The existence of safe and legal PEDs also torpedos the argument that steroids and HGH should be banned because they’re bad for you and allowing them puts pressure on your peers to do something that’s bad for you. Bullshit! Safe and legal PEDs can bridge enough of that gap to make it a non-issue. > > What happens when a totally safe PED is developed that isn’t just not harmful, but is actually _good_ for you? The stupid anti-doping logic will ban that, too. It’s so ridiculous. > > Lift the bans on PEDs now. Let the whiners who cry about the purity of the game go watch little league. Consider this whole conversation officially shitted on and over. Cue some idiot bringing up Tiger’s Lasik in 5, 4, 3 . . . :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226/35 "2009-08-23T09:08:26Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Consider this whole conversation officially shitted on and over. Cue some idiot bringing up Tiger’s Lasik in 5, 4, 3 . . . His tone was kind of shitty, but he does have some good questions. I tend to agree that we should just let them take PEDs. We let them eat performance enhancing diets & lift performance enhancing weights. I don’t see much difference. To get back to the topic, I tend assume that all elite athletes that look to make a lot of money should their performance be enhanced are probably taking something or other. Well, probably not every single one, but most of them. But I’m not all that outraged about it. If Bolt is using, then so are his biggest competitors. Nor do I think it detracts from his accomplishments. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226/36 "2009-08-23T13:50:03Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > His tone was kind of shitty, but he does have some good questions. I tend to agree that we should just let them take PEDs. We let them eat performance enhancing diets & lift performance enhancing weights. I don’t see much difference. Instead of athletes representing their countries at major events like the Olympics and the World Championships, a redundant concept in my view, I think each individual should run in the colours of the drug of his choice. Imagine the 100m Olympic final. Instead of the USA, the UK, Jamaica, etc., we could see the following lineup: Lane 1: Ephedrinia Lane 2: Amphetaminia Lane 3: Testosteronia Lane 4: Stanozololistan Lane 5: Nandrolonia Lane 6: Androstenedionia Lane 7: (_disqualified for using the wrong drug_) Lane 8: Tetrahydrogestrinonia The only problem I see with this mildly revolutionary idea is that if, say, Nandrolonia won all the gold medals, it’s pretty clear that athletes running for all the others would want to migrate to Nandrolonia, thus adversely affecting the distribution of talent in Stanozololistan and Ephedrinia. Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226/37 "2009-08-23T15:24:29Z")
I’m a cynic. So many athletes have been exposed as using PEDs in the past, and the competition is so fierce, that much as I’d like to believe that Bolt is just using his God-given talents after strenuous training, I really, really doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226/38 "2009-08-23T15:31:15Z")
Does the Speed Force count as a PED? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226/39 "2009-08-23T16:18:02Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I’m a cynic. So many athletes have been exposed as using PEDs in the past, and the competition is so fierce, that much as I’d like to believe that Bolt is just using his God-given talents after strenuous training, I really, really doubt it. Don’t _most_ athletes actually pass the tests? I believe that this is the same attitude that most French have towards Lance Armstrong. With Bolt, because of his sustained brilliance, since 2002, it’s difficult for me to think that he’s anything **but** clean. It also saddens me greatly that so many people who know so little about track will automatically believe that most, if not all of the performers are cheating. Considering the pride and ego that athletes have, I have no problem whatsoever believing that there are plenty of successful athletes that are clean. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226/40 "2009-08-23T16:20:19Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > Albert Pujols has stated that if he ever tests positive he will give back every cent that he’s earned. And David Ortiz said that any player testing positive should be suspended for a year… wait, what? Oh, nevermind then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-usain-bolt-jamaican-sprinter-record-shatterer-uses-performance-enhancing-drug/507226.md?page=3)