Joe Waugh on Olympics

Did you always want to compete in the Olympics?

I can remember watching the opening ceremony to the Olympic Games when I was eight years old. I think it must have been in my blood or something as its all I remember ever wanting to do! I went on to compete in Olympic Games twice and it was so special to me.

Were drugs common place when you were competing?

Yes. In fact it was one of the reasons I chose to not become a professional cyclist. When I competed, most of those taking part in the Olympics were amateurs, excluding the Iron Curtain countries. One of my heroes was Tommy Simpson who died in July 1967 on the Mont Ventoux and was of the first high profile casualties of drugs in sport.

Do you believe that if you take drugs, you are a cheat?

It’s a complex one. Tommy Simpson’s nephew wrote a book about him and in it he said that Simpson wasn’t a cheat because everyone else in the race was on drugs, he was simply levelling the field. It would be easy to just say yes, a drug taker is a cheat, but it’s very complicated. If the athlete who uses performance enhancing drugs is a cheat, is the athlete who has the money to spend millions on his bike and equipment to enhance his performance also a cheat? I personally don’t know the answer but in my opinion, if it is proven that you have taken drugs you should be banned from competing.

What do the Olympics mean to you?

I believe in the Olympic ideal and will always support the Games. I remember how important and exciting it was for me to compete. I will always respect any athlete who trains and dedicates themselves to a sport. This is why I have a zero tolerance attitude of drugs. It doesn’t ruin my enjoyment of the Games, but after I see an amazing performance, at the back of my mind I am wondering if they’ve taken drugs, which is a pretty sad state of affairs. There are still the majority of participants who also believe in the Olympic ideal and they make the Games for me.  Even though there were hundreds of competitors of all various disciplines from all over the world, at that point no one person was more important than another. To me, that is what the Olympics should be about.