Just when you thought they were over...

It's been more than a week since the closing ceremony at the Bird's Nest in Beijing, but the Olympic games are by far not over. As eluded to earlier, they may be only beginning:

For the most part, all of these medals were won fair and square, however these totals can be amended at any time when (and hopefully this does not occur) athletes are proven to have cheated through illegal steroids or banned substances (or even, perhaps, age). There is no time-table of when these discoveries can be made, Marion Jones has already taught us that Olympic medals can be stripped at any time...

Now begins the discovery stage of the Olympics, were science will begin to alter the history and try to correct the mistakes that had previously gone unpunished. Today, one of those discoveries was made, and it wasn't even the athlete's fault.

In equestrian (which is hardly a sport in the first place), a horse named Rufus tested positive for a banned substance, one of six horses to be caught doping during these games. What's sad is the alarming number of horses that have been caught with illegal substances in their systems during these games, even sadder to know Rufus probably didn't inject himself with the drug either. He was set up, his good name sullied. If you asked him, Rufus might say that he never wanted to be injected in the first place, he also might say that equestrian is bogus and he never wanted to compete in the stupid sport in the first place, but that depends on what questions you ask him. Rufus could not be reached for comment and is not expected to speak anytime soon.

As unsettling this news is for the equestrian community, it is equally troubling for the Olympics in general. While this news is tragic in itself, it is not the end of the doping story. In the coming days, weeks, months, and years more and more athletes will be found to have cheated their way to the medal stand. And unfortunately, there will be a high-profile athlete or two thrown in the mix (even human ones).

It has become a part of the Olympic custom to doubt any performance seen in the Olympics until drug tests prove they were indeed legit. Anyone with an above average performance will be pegged - both fairly and unfairly - as a potential cheater. Even during the broadcasts of the events themselves, commentators would speak of the amazing feats just preformed but would end on the all-important phrase: "let's just hope he/she turns out to be clean."

While it seems cynical, the fact of the matter is that athletes can not just be let off without suspicion. Time and time again they are granted the benefit of the doubt and time and time again they disappoint. Rumors have already begun to swirl about Usian Bolt and other athletes from Jamaica and the Caribbean, and as blasphemes as it may sound only time will tell if Michael Phelps's claims of being clean stand up to the microscope.

So for now the world sits and plays the waiting game to see who will emerge as the next Olympic athlete to be found guilty of cheating. No longer is it a matter of "if", only "when."