• Jesus@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Phelps was actually so good that he needed to slow his performance down with bongloads and Subway sandos so people wouldn’t assume he was doping.

      • Irremarkable@fedia.io
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        3 months ago

        IIRC, the reason he gave is they’re consistent pretty much anywhere in the world. Last thing you want before an event is food poisoning.

        • acosmichippo@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          with all the calories they’re burning they can afford it anyway. i vaguely remember phelps talking about his usual daily meals being like stacks of chocolate chip waffles, and not chicken breast with salad as you might expect.

          • Skua@kbin.earth
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            3 months ago

            It’s both, not one or the other. Dude was trying to get 8,000+ calories a day and also huge amounts of protein at the same time

            • mojofrododojo@lemmy.world
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              3 months ago

              it’s important that people understand you can’t mainline one type of intake when trying to both sustain the workouts/competition going on and preparing for a big meet. Not only does it get monotonous your body needs fats to refresh the digestive track and propel all that protein and carbs through the intestines. Trying that on a homogenous diet would be miserable.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Track Star Sha’Carri Richardson had to give up a gold medal after she tested positive for THC following a match.

  • Em Adespoton@lemmy.ca
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    3 months ago

    What about things that may or may not constitute doping? Someone with some cold meds still in their system or who huffed oxygen before competition? Someone taking meds for a known condition that still had trace amounts in their system on the day?

    There are many situations in which someone may have a foreign substance in their body that could provide advantage where they may be unaware that the substance is still lingering at competition time.

    Not to mention, you’ll get people eliminating the competition by slipping them a mickey before the event….

        • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          How far ahead of time would you have to be, though? Colds and other common ailments are known for coming on quite suddenly and with little warning, after all…

          • acosmichippo@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            yeah I was just saying it’s not all done after the fact. People with known conditions can get exceptions. And issues with colds etc are reviewed, it’s not like an automatic DSQ.

            • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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              3 months ago

              True. An example from another sport is road race cyclist Bo Hamburger who got an exemption because he had asthma.

              Apparently the same inhaler that helps asthmatic people breathe helps non-asthmatic people breathe TOO well or something along those lines lol

              • datelmd5sum@lemmy.world
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                3 months ago

                IIRC all the norwegian xcountry skiers have asthma. Amazing that they can still dominate the sport, despite their illness.

                • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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                  3 months ago

                  Conclusion: cross country skiing excellence causes asthma.

                  As for Norwegians dominating cross country skiing, that’s as close to a natural law as you get in sports 🤷😄

    • Akasazh@feddit.nl
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      3 months ago

      If you look up the word “hypocrite” in the dictionary, there’s a picture of Michael Phelps.

      I looked it up and found that dictionaries generally don’t contain pictures.

    • King3d@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Nowhere in that article does it mention that he wants them banned, but go ahead and tell me I’m wrong somehow because level playing field equals being banned.

      It sounds like he didn’t have an answer but thinks there should be some kind of system in include everyone.

      Based on the first part of your comment I’m sure your response will be well thought out and free from derogatory terms.

      • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Nowhere in that article does it mention that he wants them banned, but go ahead and tell me I’m wrong somehow because level playing field equals being banned.

        How else do you think he wants a level playing field to be achieved? Hobbling? Strapping weights to trans swimmers? Giving cis women a head start?

        Sometimes things are so obvious that they don’t need to be explicitly stated. This is one of those times.

        It sounds like he didn’t have an answer but thinks there should be some kind of system in include everyone

        So some kind of “separate but equal” bullshit that implicitly labels trans women as not women? Doesn’t sound much better than outright bans tbh…

        Based on the first part of your comment I’m sure your response will be well thought out and free from derogatory terms.

        Based on your evasive pedantry and unearned condescension, I’m sure you’re going to take anything I say contrary to your arguments into account and not dismiss them out of hand for not coddling bad faith arguments 🙄

    • njm1314@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      He’s a genetic advantage, oh no. He was born tall and broad shoulders with a swimmer’s body. That’s obviously cheating. On a related note LeBron James shouldn’t be allowed to play basketball either. Usain Bolt’s legs were too long he was genetically cheating. Only short fat out of shape people should be allowed to compete.

      Actually I’d probably watch that.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        He’s a genetic advantage, oh no.

        One of the problems with any competitive sport is the fixation on top performance, rather than the appeal of the sport itself. People dope to win, because winning is more important than simply playing well. People dope because they can’t afford to compete without being a top performer, and so we create a monetary incentive to cheat.

        Only short fat out of shape people should be allowed to compete.

        “Don’t bother even trying, you’re the wrong shape” is a very common and deeply disheartening trend in a whole host of sporting events.

        • njm1314@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          Brother we’re talking about the Olympics. Top performance is the point. The best athletes in the whole world competing at the top of their Sports. Nobody here is under any illusions about why people cheat we all get it. That doesn’t mean it’s acceptable.

          • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Top performance is the point

            The point is to bring together an international community of athletes in a peaceful cultural exchange.

            Handing out medals for ballroom dancing and table tennis is just an excuse to get everyone in the same room together.

            Nobody here is under any illusions about why people cheat we all get it. That doesn’t mean it’s acceptable.

            The enormous monetary incentives around medaling corrupt the spirit of an egalitarian international event.

      • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        I’m not saying he’s cheating or shouldn’t have been allowed to compete.

        That’s what he’s saying about trans women in spite of he himself having much bigger advantages than any trans woman ever did.

        BTW, the rest of your strawman argument aside, Bolt actually has a very atypical build for a sprinter. Most of the best sprinters ever have been of slightly below average height and compact of build.

        A former trainer of his put it thusly: “he’s built less like a human sprinter and more like a thoroughbred racing horse” 😄

        • njm1314@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          Oh he’s the only tall broad shoulder swimmer body man who competes in the olympics? I wasn’t aware. I guess all the people I saw this last week who had the exact same body type as him we’re mirages. What absolute nonsense your argument is.

          • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Oh he’s the only tall broad shoulder swimmer body man who competes in the olympics

            Obviously not. He has several genetic advantages that other top swimmers don’t, as detailed in the article you clearly didn’t read.

            Here’s a short summary:

            • He stands tall at 6’4″, which is the ideal height for swimming. The average height of an Olympic finalist in 2016 was 6’2″

            • His arm span is 6’7″, 3 inches more than his height. Generally, a person’s arm span is equal to their height, but Phelps is not an ordinary person. This anomalous characteristic gives him an absurd amount of pulling power in the water. Basically, his arms work as powerful propulsive (boat) paddles in a more efficient way than his competitors.

            • His upper body is that of a 6 ‘8 “man. With each stroke, he can have amazing reach, pulling him through the water ahead of the competition.

            • his lower body is only 5 ’10 “long, which is beneficial as it reduces drag against water.

            • Phelps has huge palms that support his paddling ability, essentially acting as flippers

            • he also has abnormally large feet with extremely flexible ankles, basically functioning like the tail fin of a shark

            • Phelps’s body produces half as much lactic acid as his rivals, significantly shortening his recovery time and allowing him to endure longer swims without slowing down.

            Source: Science ABC