For some, of course, success and the money it brings overrides fairness.
So if it’s life-changing wealth and the greed it generates that corrupts fairness, does a lack of money equate to cleanliness? And in that case, would we be better advised to keep women’s sports impoverished to ensure clean competition?
The answer is more nuanced. Obviously money is a great driver, but other factors are at work.
One witness in the Armstrong saga was a young American rider called David Zabriskie, who had admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). In his affidavit, Zabriskie identified as a turning point a conversation with Canadian cyclist Michael Barry and his American wife Dede, also a professional cyclist. According to Zabriskie, they convinced him using PEDs was necessary to stay in the sport.
At Athens in 2004 I was in terrific form. I had beaten Dede Barry on many occasions but on this very big occasion, she caught and passed me as if I was some novice. Her husband had spent a career denying ever using doping products. Once the Armstrong scandal broke he wrote another book telling a different story. Apparently he and Dede used to keep EPO, external in the family fridge.
Dede Barry still has her Olympic silver medal from the day she roared past me; after all, she passed the tests.