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So who won the tour from 1999 to 2005

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Chrisull Mar 2018 10:45am, 21 Mar 2018 12,429 posts	Quote Pin Chrisull I'm not happy with the ideas of records being erased, but when the records are Flo Jo's, Marita Koch's, Kratochvilova's, Wang Junxia (3000m), all known dopers then what else do you do? I don't want Paula's record erased, I want it beaten legitimately in a race. If then several people go past it in quick succession, my qualms over Paula's record are dampened.
SPR Mar 2018 11:09am, 21 Mar 2018 25,713 posts	Quote Pin SPR If there's proper evidence of doping, then scrub the individual record. If not, then it's BS.
Chrisull Mar 2018 11:10am, 21 Mar 2018 12,430 posts	Quote Pin Chrisull The problem is what is proper evidence? Koch, Kratochvilova and Flo Jo didn't test positive when setting their records...
larkim Mar 2018 11:36am, 21 Mar 2018 4,199 posts	Quote Pin larkim I'm a bit more sympathetic to Paula wanting to hang on to her record and being a bit protective of it. After all, it is her only really lasting mark of "status" without the gold medals she craved. I wonder whether what we're hearing in her reticence also is perhaps some of the doping suspicion in her head. Now that does diminish her in my view, as that is no more than standard forum troll accusations of doping based on rumour etc UNLESS because of her priviliged position within the IAAF she is aware of something unpublicised that we are not party to.
Bazoaxe Mar 2018 12:57pm, 21 Mar 2018 12,707 posts	Quote Pin Bazoaxe Thing is though only Keitany and maybe Dibaba (T) are currently showing any likelihood of being able to get near Paula's record, so its not going to be beaten by loads of people. We have also seen some speedy women at half and full falling foul of doping (Jeptoo, Sumgong and also was there a quick half marathoner recently or was that a steeplechaser - I cant remember. Actually Jebet, steeplechaser) so there are 2 or 3 quick half marathoners that maybe could threaten also. But I agree, paula remains a huge outlier which for some is enough to be suspicious although I would be astonished if she was found to be a doper. I know our letsrun chums don't share that view though !
Chrisull Mar 2018 1:02pm, 21 Mar 2018 12,432 posts	Quote Pin Chrisull Always liked Paula, a little sanctimonius at times, but her front running losses in the 10ks up til then were always totally gutsy and painful to watch, unlike Mo or Froome, she was ALWAYS obviously hugely talented, and it felt like vindication when it did go right. Actually talking of outliers, hers is not so far out as Koch's, Kratochvilova's or Flo Jo's. Keitany has a chance of beating them. No-one has a chance of beating the former 3.
Wriggling Snake Mar 2018 1:16pm, 21 Mar 2018 18,037 posts	Quote Pin Wriggling Snake Bolt. He is an outlier.
larkim Mar 2018 1:18pm, 21 Mar 2018 4,201 posts	Quote Pin larkim Given the women's HM record has come down by nearly a minute since Paula held it, and that 1:04:52 correlates to a 2:15 time you'd have to say it should be coming soon, especially as women are reputed to have better endurance. Women's distance racing is becoming stronger and deeper so I'm sure it will go in the next 5-10 years at the latest.
Chrisull Mar 2018 1:33pm, 21 Mar 2018 12,433 posts	Quote Pin Chrisull He is indeed. And given the other Jamaican sprinters have all failed doping tests, you'd be a fool not to wonder. But really, if Bolt is cheating we might as well throw in the towel now, because he is the hope, that it is possible to be clean and to outgun the Justin Gatlins, Tyson Gays, Asafa Powell's of this world and remain a charming gent throughout. And as it says his world record is not as much of an outlier as Paula's. And Paula's an outlier I'm guessing because no-one else has come close, because of the nature of the marathon (why break a WR, when you can just win the race in 5 minutes more time), rather no-one has tried to take the WR.
larkim Mar 2018 1:38pm, 21 Mar 2018 4,202 posts	Quote Pin larkim Agreed about the throwing in the towel. And given how much money there would be to be made even today by a whistle-blower with first hand accounts of Bolt not being clean, I take comfort from the fact that his career remains untained apart from the fact that he was very, very fast!! (And even that broadly correlates with his speed as a junior, so its entirely reasonable to see his as a perfectly natural progression).