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First, depending on how you read the rules, the
walkers are not necessarily flouting it. Remember the rule says "No
visible (to the human eye) loss of contact". While there are certainly
exceptions, most walkers are NOT losing contact in a way that is visible to the
human eye, even trained judges. If they were, they would be
disqualified. The problem from a PR standpoint is that they are pushing it
right up to the line between visible and not visible, which is exactly what they
should be doing from a competitive standpoint, and sometimes disqualifications
result. It is also true that it is much easier to see a loss of contact in
video or photograph, but that is not considered visible to the human
eye.
Second, there is a misperception that this is
cheating. It is not cheating any more than a long jumper trying to use all
of the board and fouling, or shot putter accidentally stepping out of the
circle, or doaens of other examples in all sports. It is not the same, for
example, as taking drugs or cutting a course, actions which are unequivocally
against the rules.
Given the way the rule is worded, it would be
unreasonable to actually expect an athlete to be able to tell if he/she was
losing contact in a way that was visible to the human eye, unless it was a major
violation. The athlete is not in a position to be able to effectively view
his own contact with the ground. All the more reason that for the most
part it COULDN"T be purposeful cheating.
Is it a PR nightmare - absolutely. Is it an
event that will never be one of the more popular events - very
likely. But to call it cheating is both ignorant and insulting to 99% of
the Race Walkers.
- ed parrot
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- t-and-f: On walking Ed Grant
- Ed & Dana Parrot
