Outspoken middle-distance runner Nick Symmonds tricks himself into believing that doping isn’t going on in his event. Otherwise, he couldn’t climb out of bed every morning to train.
“I stick my head in the sand and pretend it’s not happening,” the American 800-meter standout said in a phone interview. “It’s a filthy, dirty sport – the cheaters are always going to be two steps ahead of the testers. It’s never a level playing field.
“Anyone who stands on the starting line at an Olympic final and thinks they’re racing against a clean field is delusional.”
Symmonds doesn’t shy away from voicing his opinion on track’s inequities or from keeping pressure on those responsible for making decisions in a sport that’s engulfed by doping scandals with the Rio Olympics rapidly approaching.
He boycotted the world track and field championships in Beijing last summer to make a point about the relationship between athletes, sponsors and national bodies. Soon, he’s headed to court as he takes on USA Track and Field, along with the United States Olympic Committee, over the type of sponsors that can be displayed on uniforms and other clothing at the Olympic Trials in July.