Seven Russian athletes have been provisionally suspended for doping offences, the International Association of Athletics Federations has announced.
Well the big bomb before the Beijing Olympics has been dropped, before each Olympics it seems as though those in power seem to drop a doping bomb on us.
Now it is the turn of the Russians to be exposed, in Sydney 2000 it was the USA, with CJ Hunter being jettisoned out however since then we have learnt to what extent the US covered up their own indiscretions.
In Athens 2004, the Greek sprinters, Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou, were nailed in the build up
A great number of people still wait for the Jamaican fall out to occur and sadly such sceptism will be part of the World of Athletics until more is done to win back the confidence of the public.
One of real interest in the Russian list is Olga Yegorova and it shows that some dopers never learn from their past let offs and a life ban will be a fitting punishment for the tainted Yegorova, who was exposed some years back before a World Championship where she went on to win Gold over 5000m.
The current world leader via time in the Women's 800m and 1500m, as well as new indoor World Record holder over 1500m is also on the list.
Yelena Soboleva now looks to be out of the Olympics and this leaves Kenya's Paulina Jelimo as outright favourite unless the 'puppet-masters' have something further in store for us.
Five on the list, of the Russians on doping suspensions, made up of Yelena Soboleva and Tatyana Tomashova as well as fellow distance runner Yulia Fomenko, Darya Pishchalnikova (discus) and Gulfiya Khanafeyeva (hammer) were all Olympic squad members.
The other two athletes are Svetlana Cherkasova and Olga Yegorova.
Soboleva - the reigning 1500m world indoor champion - is the world leader over 800m and 1500m this year, while Tomashova was world champion in 2003 and 2005 and claimed silver at the Athens Olympics four years ago.
Fomenko finished second behind Soboleva over 1500m at the world indoor championships in Valencia earlier this year.
The two field-eventers are also of pedigree, with Pishchalnikova the reigning European discus champion and hammer thrower Khanafeyeva a former world record holder.
The seven have been charged under IAAF rules for a "fraudulent substitution of urine which is both a prohibited method and also a form of tampering with the doping control process", according to a statement from the world governing body.
This is a major blow as well as a victory for the sport and with further pressure and the toughening up on suspensions as well as making it a criminal case due to the fraudulent manner of the taking of money while using the drugs, we can maybe scare people into reconsidering their use of drugs. Fear is a great detterant where many do not carry a conscience.
Now that I come to think about it, there also seems to be a pattern before each World Track Championships where the public are fed with the idea that we are winning the fight against drugs and I for one truly hope we are and that all this is not an exercise in window dressing.
Onwards and forwards to Beijing
