Olympic runner Molly Huddle: It’s time to criminalize doping conspiracies in athletics – USA TODAY
The Olympic movement faces an existential threat from systematic state-sponsored doping and a failed global anti-doping system. I am a two-time Olympian in track and field and a resident of Rhode Island for the past 12 years, and I am asking the federal government to help save Olympic sport.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., introduced the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act in January, the House of Representatives passed it unanimously last month, and the time for the Senate to pass the bill is now.
As part of a training group of professional distance runners based in Providence, my teammates and I build the foundation of our Olympic Dreams on the roads, tracks and trails of this small state with a big running history. Olympic medalists, World Championship finalists and Boston Marathon champions have preceded us on these training grounds, but these accolades are fewer now as the climate of the sport has changed over the last decade due to widespread doping.
When the playing field is not level because of realities like Russian state-sponsored doping, it hurts both athletes and the communities we come from. Clean athletes are role models for Rhode Island youth, but our accomplishments are overlooked when the podium is unattainable due to widespread doping.
When a medal is stolen from a clean athlete, the scope of that athlete’s influence as a positive mentor is diminished. When we don’t win, we don’t receive the media coverage, at home or nationally, to inspire the next generation to pursue their own dreams.
Nothing compares to the Olympic Games as a platform for athletes to become heroes, and four years is a long time to wait for another shot at glory. An elite runner’s whole career may only last eight years. Due to doping, it is now common for results to change months or even years after the last athlete crosses the finish line.
I know amazing athletes who were awarded medals long after they retired. Sure, the delay cost them money, fame and a special moment on the medal stand, but more importantly, they lost the chance to share their experiences and the lessons they’ve learned with their communities. They lost the chance to prove that hard work and perseverance are all it takes to succeed.
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The Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act will criminalize doping conspiracies that target international sporting events and put the power of federal law enforcement behind clean athletes. Tools like subpoenas and searches and seizures will be used to hold corrupt sport administrators accountable. The act will protect whistleblowers and allow athletes to seek restitution when they are defrauded by dopers.
Rhode Island is lucky to have Senator Whitehouse leading the effort to restore integrity to international sport. With the 2020 Summer Olympics less than a year away, the time is now for Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., to join Senator Whitehouse by cosponsoring the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act and help turn it into law.
We need to bring clean athletes out of the long shadow cast by doping conspiracies. When we do, their bright lights will shine on their hometowns, their training communities, and the next generations of American athletes.
Molly Huddle, an Elmira, Rhode Island, native and a resident of Providence, is a two-time Olympian and an eight-time World Finalist. This op-ed first appeared in the Providence Journal.
