In an interview with Cliona Foley, Sonia O'Sullivan admitted that she still wonders about the legitimacy of some of the Chinese athletes who beat her in her 1990s heyday. "It's amazing that some of those world records still stand and no one questions it. Like, 8:06 for 3,000 metres for a woman is kind of out of this world," said the Cobh star in a reference to China's Wang Junxia's time of 8:06.11. O'Sullivan often reflects, however, on how, when she was the hot 3,000m favourite at the 1993 World Championships, a group of unknown Chinese athletes kept her out of the medals.
The full article can be seen HERE
After putting up this post, I had an online poll which asked "Was Sonia O Sullivan cheated out of a medal in the 1993 World Championships???".......and that was up for just 72 hours. A total of 86 people took part and the results can be seen in the pie chart.
As you can see, most people believe the 3 Chinese athletes cheated by taking performance enhancing drugs.
Postscript....
By the way, these are the top times for the womens 3,000 metres
All-Time Women's Best At 3,000
1 8:06.11 Wang Junxia CHN 09.01.73 1 Beijing 13.09.1993
2 8:12.18 Qu Yunxia CHN 25.12.72 2 Beijing 13.09.1993
3 8:12.19 Wang Junxia CHN 09.01.73 1h2 Beijing 12.09.1993
4 8:12.27 Qu Yunxia CHN 25.12.72 2h2 Beijing 12.09.1993
5 8:16.50 Zhang Linli CHN 06.03.73 3 Beijing 13.09.1993 6
8:19.78 Ma Liyan CHN 03.11.68 3h2 Beijing 12.09.1993
7 8:21.26 Ma Liyan CHN 03.11.68 4 Beijing 13.09.1993
8 8:21.42 Gabriela Szabo ROU 14.11.75 1 Monaco 19.07.2002
9 8:21.64 Sonia O'Sullivan IRL 28.11.69 1 London 15.07.1994
10 8:21.84 Zhang Lirong CHN 03.03.73 5 Beijing 13.09.1993
11 8:22.06 Zhang Linli CHN 06.03.73 1h1 Beijing 12.09.1993
Look at all of those times posted by Chinese runners in Beijing in 1993. Can anyone seriously believe that that there was any sort of drugs enforcement regime in China back in 1993??
No comments:
Post a Comment