Can’t remember the chap’s name or even the event, but over the weekend I caught one of team GB win a track event (I think 400m). Steve Cram – commentating – then pointed out on the replay that he crossed over into someone else’s lane on the final corner before going on to win. Under the rules he should have been DQ’d but as of turning the TV off his result stood since none of the officals noticed.

You know you’ve broken the rules but you’ve won. Would you own up??

if i thought it had won me the race i would like to think so

he only stepped out for 2 or three paces and won by a country mile anyway

If it meant I’d won because of the rule infringment, yes I’d own up (well probably yes, I’d certaintly think about it anyway, well maybe), if it hadn’t made any difference to the result then no.

You’d have to rephrase the question whould you own up if you came 450th for it to start having personal relevence though 🙂

I have abused ventolin in bicyckle races in which I have barely crawled across the line, and have never owned up to this. I imagine the difficulty of finding someone who cared enough to disqualify me and strip me of my un-endorsed racing licence would be tricky. 😕

Similar thing happened when Peaty rode outside the tape at Fort Bill a few weeks back. I guess since he didn’t make the podium he wasn’t too bothered

What mr-m-w said. It didn’t win him the race that he went 6″ out of his lane for a yard or so. I would keep schtumm.

For justification – suppose it went the other way and I was mistakenly disqualified for a false start. My tough luck. The rules are that you do what the referee says, right or wrong. In this case the referee (or whatever) said (implicitly) that it was OK.

It was Tim Benjamin in the 400m.

The UK team should have reported him.
Good athlete and I wish him well but the childish collusion that was taking place IMO made us look like cheats. If those French or Italians did it we would be up in arms.

Double standards.

So its only cheating if you are caught?

i would be the least of my worries after the farce that was the ‘sprints’ in the distance events

yeah. If you haven’t followed the rules, even by accident, you haven’t won. By pretending it dint happen, you are dissing the true victor.

i would be the least of my worries after the farce that was the ‘sprints’ in the distance events

That sounds like a different thread.

So its only cheating if you are caught?

It’s only cheating if you do it on purpose and gain an advantage.

If one of the other competitors felt that they had been disadvantaged they should have queried it with the officials.

If one of the other competitors felt that they had been disadvantaged they should have queried it with the officials.

There is no doubt he gained an advantage and we dont need a physics lesson to determine that he ran ? a shorter distance than the others.

Would he have won anyway? Absolutely
Did he gain the advantage purposely? I think not, I am sure it was accidental.

It then becomes a matter of degree. If a sprinter gains a 10th of a second through a false start is that acceptable? or does it depend on which sprinter it is?

We all saw it we should have reported it. The fact that others didnt possibly makes them look better than us IMO

Now selling like hot cakes in the STW shop – the new Singletrackworld hair shirt.

i raced slalom canoeing for many years and this cropped up, ie if you know you clipped a pole and yet didnt get a penalty do you own up? My view was, over the course of a few seasons these things evened themselves out, sometimes (many more times) you were given a penalty you didnt get and sometimes (but more rarely) you hit a pole and didnt get a penalty.

You accept the verdict of the judges and get on with it.

(What was not acceptable was protesting a penalty you knew you’d hit because you wanted a higher placing or protesting competitors results – in my opinion)

I have abused ventolin in bicyckle races in which I have barely crawled across the line

Aren’t 75% of rugby players registered asthmatics?

Hmmm…aren’t 99% of statistics made up on the spot?

From my track days, it’s not that easy to know when you’ve stepped out lane, especially on the bends, having not seen the footage i won’t comment further.

It’s down to the officials to notice these infringement and act on them accordingly, but yes as a team manager i would not deny that it happened as for stepping forward and announcing it..dunno it’s not like i’m obliged to by law.

Morally yes, it’s the right thing to do, if it was a photo finish then i suspect the other team would be jumping up and down about it, but if as it sounds he was clearly in the lead then it’s all a bit petty.

but if as it sounds he was clearly in the lead then it’s all a bit petty.

If your track days were/are anything like mine then pettiness is the name of the game!

+1 for bartat

That is exactly the reasoning a number of cricketers have used over the years, specifically Michael Atherton who never walked throughout his career.

If you can stick to it and not whine when you get a bad call I think it’s a good way to go.

Matt

I can’t believe this is even being discussed!! Its not for T/B or the British team to do or say anything.You play to the whistle just like any sport.In any case cheating is deliberate rule breaking to gain an advantage.no evidence of that here.

You play to the whistle just like any spor

Not all sports are the same. The one with whistle is well known for cheating and is not improved by it.
Proper sports are played in the spirit of fair play.
Your right I cant understand why it is being discussed either. You fess up if you are a real sportsman.