Rob's Blog » Track & Field

Fast Dollars for Fast Food

Rob Wood — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:28:16 +0000

Nathan Deeks, an Australian Champion race walker, appeared in a full page color advertisement for the fast food restaurant McDonalds, saying that he eats ‘Maccas’ after his events, including at the Olympic Games. I know that he was probably only trying to earn a few sponsorship bucks in return from all the effort he puts into his training, but as a sporting role model it was such a disgusting thing to promote eating undoubtedly unhealthy food. I don’t mind that he had the occasional fast food snack, but it is not right for an athlete representing Australia to say it so publicly. It does not say much about the dietitians at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) if one of their athletes comes out of there with this attitude that this is OK to do. A few days later, a very similar looking ad was published (obviously on purpose), with an ex- Australian Olympian and NBA star Luc Longley, promoting healthy eating, saying that he never considered eating junk food before or after competing. The ad was a welcome response to the McDonalds one, which needed to be done, but I don’t think enough ho-ha was made of it. The government spends millions of dollars trying to address the problem of childhood obesity, including trying to get more people active and into sports, and also millions are spent on the AIS getting athletes including Nathan Deeks properly prepared for the Olympic Games. I don’t think he has done his long time supporter (AIS) any good and hopefully he got into trouble, all for a small financial reward.

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Unusual Olympic Fuels

Rob Wood — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:35:37 +0000

Does fast food make you fast? Usian Bolt (which has to be one of the greatest names for a sprinter – like he was born to run fast) was quoted as saying he eats McDonalds nuggets before his events, as if it was some kind of wonder pill. Similarly, Australian race walker Jarred Tallent (winner of silver in the 50 km walk) was also in the local press revealing that he fuelled himself on pizza on the eve of his race and coke during the final stages of his race. Pizza is his favorite food and he finally gave in after two weeks at the food hall night before race. After his 20 km race he threw up during the final stages and afterwards, and after his pizza binge, he was afraid it would happen again. Where are the sports dietitians advising these athletes? Why would they risk one of the most important events in their sporting careers? They were obviously good enough to still win their races despite having junk food, but please don’t brag about it as if it helped you. There is too much fast food eaten in this world already, we don’t want our elite athletes promoting it too.

Related Pages: sports nutrition

Fast Dollars for Fast Food

Rob Wood — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:28:17 +0000

Nathan Deeks, Australian Champion race walker appeared in a full page color advertisement for the fast food restaurant McDonalds, saying that he eats ‘Maccas’ after his events, including the Olympics. I know that he was probably only trying to earn a few bucks in return from all the effort he puts into to training, but as a sporting role model it was such a disgusting thing to promote eating undoubtedly unhealthy food. I don’t mind that he had the occasional fast food snack, but it is not right for an athlete representing Australia to say it so publicly. It does not say much about the dietitians at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) if one of their athletes comes out of there with this attitude that this is OK to do. A few days later, a very similar looking ad was published (obviously on purpose), with an ex- Australian Olympian and NBA star Luc Longley, promoting healthy eating, saying that he never considered eating junk food before or after competing. The ad was a welcome response to the McDonalds one, which needed to be done, but I don’t think enough ho-ha was made of it. The government spends millions of dollars trying to address the problem of childhood obesity, including trying to get more people active and into sports, and also millions are spent on the AIS getting athletes including Nathan Deeks properly prepared for the Olympic Games. I don’t think he has done his long time supporter (AIS) any good and hopefully he got into trouble, all for a small financial reward.

Related Pages: Summer Olympic Games

Marion Jones – Catch me if you can

Rob Wood — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 10:58:01 +0000

Marion Jones has found out that no matter how fast you are, you cannot run away from the truth. In hardly a surprise for many people, USA Sprinter Marion Jones admitted yesterday that she was a drug cheat. She had taken the designer steroid THG, which was also known as “the clear” by the BALCO laboratory. She had vehemently denied any wrong doing for a long time, under mounting evidence. I don’t know how she had remained clear for so long. Even the head of Balco, Victor Conte, who has repeatedly and publicly accused Jones of using drugs, was her personal “nutritionist” at the Sydney Olympics. Now and rightly so her reputation is in tatters, and she is apparently broke. She will lose many of her records and the medals she won at the Sydney Olympic Games. I have no sympathy for her. It makes me angry that I have to give these athletes the benefit of the doubt, when all the anecdotal evidence and rumours paint a dirty picture, but unfortunately the drug tests have failed to find any evidence, and they deny all the allegations. It make me think of the saying that “When something is too good to be true, it probably is”. When I watched her sprint away from the rest of the field in the 2000 Sydney Olympics 100 metre sprint, my first thought was that in such a competitive event that someone cannot be that much better than the next best sprinter in the world. And now it is shown that no one was, naturally. Even the second placegetter has subsequently been done for drugs, and who knows which other athletes in that field also had artificial enhancement. As I have said before, it is hard to enjoy watching some sports when my first thought is always whether the winner had taken drugs to get there. This applies at the least to cycling, track and field, and weight lifting.

Lance Struggles in New York Marathon

Rob Wood — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 01:20:23 +0000

Lance Armstrong competed in the New York Marathon on the weekend. He finished in a credible time for a non-runner at just under 3 hours. With his huge aerobic fitness level that he has shown on the bike in winning the Tour de France seven times, you would think it would be a walk in the park for him. He struggled, and said afterwards that it was the hardest physical thing he has ever done. This will bring joy to all the distance runners out there to get the credit for the hard work that they regularly go though. Maybe it was so tough for him as he is not with a cycling team anymore, and therefore does not have the team resources to ‘aid’ his performance.

Norman Black Power

Rob Wood — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 04:12:47 +0000

Australian sprinter Peter Norman recently passed away. His silver medal in the 200m at the Mexico Olympics in 1968 is still the best performance by an Australian male sprinter. Norman ran 20.06 seconds, which is still an Australian record. Despite his great performances, he is not a well known sportsman in Australia. However, many people have seen a photo of him receiving his Olympic medal, as he was part of one of the classic Olympic Games controversies. Norman came second behind American Tommie Smith, and in front of John Carlos also from the USA. Smith and Carlos were African Americans, and made their black power salute, raising their fists with black gloves on. All three athletes wore human rights badges, with Norman showing his support for their cause.

More Dopes

Rob Wood — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 00:29:43 +0000

Does the drug nightmare for sports ever end? Track and field are having their turn at the moment. World and Olympic 100 meters champion Justin Gatlin admitted failing a drugs test in April, and has just been given an eight year ban, though this may change over time. The world record for the 100 meters of 9.77 seconds that he shared with Asafa Powell has been taken off him. The harsh penalty follows his previous positive for an amphetamine at the 2001 US Junior Championships. Also in the news is five-time Olympic medallist Marion Jones, who has been linked to doping in the past, and recently gave a positive result for EPO. Her second sample has yet to be tested, but her reputation must now surely be tainted. All this in the wake of the other high profile USA athlete found to be doping, cyclist Floyd Landis, who tested positive for elevated testosterone during the Tour de France. As talked about previously, the answer to this problem of drugs in sport does not seem apparent. Hopefully as more high profile athletes are found to be cheating, this will deter others from doing so. What happened to the old adage of just playing fair? Maybe one day that will return. In the meantime, I hope the scientists continue to fight and catch the cheats so I can again truly enjoy watching sport.

Stawell Gift

Rob Wood — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 03:16:36 +0000

It is the Easter long weekend in Victoria, which for the sports lover means the Stawell Gift is on. I am back living here in Vic after living elsewhere around Australia for the last 20 years. I had forgotten how passionate the Vics are about sport, an the Stawell Gift is one of those passions. I would be lucky to hear boo about it anywhere else in Oz. The Stawell Gift is held in country Victoria every Easter. It is a handicap race, run over 120m for the back markers running off scratch. It is the oldest professional footrace in the world, first run in 1878 and won by a farmer W. Millard. A little about pro running – professional running is popular in Australia, I’m not sure if there is much of it going on elsewhere. It developed over 100 years ago as an alternative to amateur running, which was a requirement of participation at the Olympic Games. Professional runners race for prize money, and betting on the runners is also popular. The runners are handicapped by giving the slower runners a start – the distance determined by previous running form. The most famous professional running race in Australia is the Stawell Gift, and is called by some the ‘Melbourne Cup of running’.

Related Pages: professional running races

Unusual Olympic Fuels