Be strict on dope offenders: Carl Lewis

BANGALORE: Track legend Carl Lewis wants sportspersons including the world's fastest sprinter Usain Bolt to lead from the front and bring about major changes to win back the confidence of spectators.
The event ambassador of TCS World 10K, who set a world record time of 9.86 seconds at the Tokyo World Championships in 1991, didn't agree that Bolt is leading the sport."He is not leading. You think so?" he countered.
He went on to recall his famed rivalry with former American track and field athlete Mike Powell. "We competed against each other for 15 years. You did not realize that, did you? You only know of 3-4 years, but we made the events interesting," he explained.
"When I go back to London (Olympics), Jesse Owens' best jump would have been third in London. Are we advancing the sport if someone who competed 80 years ago can still win a medal today?
These are issues that make fans think that the sport is not getting better," he said.
The star sprinter also said that he has left the Ben Johnson episode behind. "I got over it a long time ago. He was a victim. I was victimized because all the athletes in the race were victimized. If I saw him now, 25-26 years later, I will be like, 'let it go'."
The nine-time Olympic champion felt it's not correct to give athletes a lighter punishment just because they confess. "That's not the way to go.
I admire him (Tyson Gay) for being open but it's starting to go the slippery slope if we can talk our way out and get a lesser ban. In the end, you are getting one year for taking a steroid. It's like 'Oops I did it (steroid). I'm sorry. Now give me one year'. That's something that we may need to be very careful. The onus is on the athletes (to fight doping).
Athletes are silent on the issue and we need to hold them more accountable. When I competed I spoke quite a bit about this issue. I talked about the need for random testing way back in the 80s. Now the only thing we hear from athletes is complaints.," he said.