Bailey: Drug cheats must be banned for life

Donovan Bailey has warned athletics dopers not to risk death by boosting their bodies to dangerous degrees in pursuit of glory and reiterated his call for lifetime bans to be given to those who cheat.

The former 100m world record holder believes his sport can progress past the scandals engulfing it after positive tests for Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell but emphasised that can only happen when every athlete takes full responsibility for whatever substances are found in his or her system.

Bailey, who took gold in 9.84sec at the 1996 Atlanta Games, is only one of two 100m Olympic champions since 1984 not to have been tainted by an association with drugs.

His words come on the eve of the World  Athletics Championships in Moscow and the likelihood is you will be hearing more from the 45-year-old Canadian as he is travelling to Russia to act as an analyst for BBC Radio 5 Live.

“I don’t really know why someone would want to do something that would damage his life,” Bailey told Sportsmail of drugs that push the boundaries of human physiology.

“But I mean when there’re money and fame, sometimes insecure people will do anything.

“There’re going to be cynics who want people to kill themselves I’m sure. But the majority of people want to see every single athlete on a level playing field, getting out there and doing exactly what it is they’re supposed to do.”

Source: Sportsmail