Meanwhile in Olympics: Former Competitor Busted For Smuggling $200 Million of Cocaine, Maybe This Could Be a Sport, Too?

Cocaine is one hell of a drug. But could it also be an Olympic sport? We think so after two-time silver medal winner Nathan Baggaley and his younger brother set a world record for kilos of cocaine smuggled into Australia on a kayak.

Nathan, a former world champion, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for masterminding the controversial cocaine games, in which two kayaks race for hundreds of miles to meet a cargo ship out at sea. In this particular event, the competitors load their racing vessels with 650 kilos of nose candy, before competing head-to-head against a Navy patrol boat.

Lawyers for the brothers argued in court that younger brother Dru Baggaley believed the race involved tobacco and not cocaine (a totally separate sport). They further argued that Nathan, who was banned from the sport of kayak in 2005 for steroid use, had no knowledge of the contest at all.

But the judge felt otherwise, delivering a critical blow to the entire sport of cocaine smuggling. At least, for now.

This isn’t the first time the Baggaley brothers have paddled their way into the drug trade. In 2009, the pair were jailed after they got caught manufacturing and distributing ecstasy tablets. The prison time didn’t deter the two sportsmen from trying again in 2015 when they added other party drugs and meth cooking to complete their drug triathlon.

It begs the question of what happens to all these athletes who compete in the Olympic Games over the years and are then cast into the trash pile of aging sports figures. With such a small window for athletes to compete at the highest level, former champions are soon stuck wondering where they can redirect their competitive energies once they’re no longer at the top.

We think it might be time to open up the Games to some creative new categories. After all, if racewalking can be an Olympic event, then surely cocaine smuggling can find a place on the world stage of competitive sports.

Cover Photo: Jonathan Wood / Stringer (Getty Images)

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