Resumen de Too Much, Too Fast, Too Soon: Chinese Women Runners, Accusations of Steroid Use, and the Politics of American Track and Field
In the summer and fall of 1993, women from the People’s Republic of China set an astounding number of world records in track and field. Never had so many women performed so brilliantly in such a short period of time. American track and field journalists, however, responded with shock and outrage. Though the women had never tested positive for steroid use, these journalists insisted that the Chinese women could only have succeeded by using steroids. A qualitative discourse analysis of stories written by these journalists revealed that the case against the Chinese was made by privileging the voices of Western European and American athletes, coaches, and sport scientists, and discrediting the Chinese athletes and coaches. The case buttressed the authority of Western track and field experts and athletes whose dominance might otherwise have been shaken by the superior performances of the Chinese. However, the analysis also pointed to a conflict of interest among different factions of the American track and field establishment as scientists, coaches, athletes, and officials all attempted to distance themselves from blame for the prevalence of steroid use by focusing attention on the misdeeds of others.
