Track & Field
High
The fastest man on Earth — Usain Bolt — surprisingly endured a slow start to the 2015 season. He competed in his first 100m race only in April at the 'Mano a Mano' competition in Rio de Janeiro. The Jamaican superstar emerged as the winner, but not with a convincing time of 10.12 seconds in 100m.
But, just when doubts started to creep in, the lightning Bolt reminded the world to never count him out. He dominated the World Championships in Beijing. The Jamaican stormed through the 100m to claim the gold by clocking 9.79 seconds, ahead of Justin Gatlin — who was tipped to be the favourite. Bolt did not stop there as he went on to win the 200m and 4 x 100m relay in the Championships as well. Notably, the 19.55 seconds he clocked in 200m was the 10th-fastest time ever.
Positive tests bring negativity
low
Russia, the powerhouses of athletics, may no longer hold the fort after being banned indefinitely for doping.
In November, the Russian athletics federation was provisionally suspended by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) following the publication of an independent report by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) commission.
The commission found Russia of "state-sponsored doping" and said the country has a "deeply rooted culture of cheating."
The IAAF ruling means that Russian athletes are set to miss important upcoming events, such as the 2016 Indoor World Championships, and maybe the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
It all started in 2014, when Germany’s ARD aired a documentary called 'The Secrets of Doping: How Russia Makes Its Winners.' The documentary stated that the majority of Russian athletes used banned substances. Thus a WADA special commission was set up to investigate the allegations. WADA's report suggested that Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) was deliberately covering up the evidence of further doping by tampering with blood tests and creating access problems for WADA officers.