Russian 1500m Women Suspended

this is a dumb post. your opinion is that when the majority of opinions are on one side, they are right. that would be wonderful, but it is based on nothing at all.

of course the majority of fans will realize that when all of a sudden a group of athletes is cranking out ridiculous performances, it's related to PEDs. This kind of thing is a mistake by whoever coaches and directs those groups or individuals though, and it's a mistake that good coaches and chemists have proven they can avoid.

when a single african (or american, or brit, etc..) is cranking out those same ridiculous performances year after year though so it seems consistent and believable to some, why shouldn't we suspect the same thing? Because you and a bunch of other people want to believe, for instance, that the poor africans are just that much better? Or last year when Webb was killing the mile and 1500m...you say "well he ran fast in high school so he's clean"?

everyone needs to wake up here. ALL top world-ranking performances now are highly suspect. There ARE africans who dope. There ARE americans, including distance runners, that dope. This is their profession...not a hobby...and for most it is necessary to dope in order to compete with other genetic freaks who dope.

ALL CHEATS MUST BE OUTED!!!

It is funny how desperate some posters are that the East Africans are FOR SURE all on drugs, yet the fact is that they compete year after year with no busts, yet those POOR (but dirty) Russians, Morroccans, Spanish, Romanians, American sprinters, etc. keep getting caught. Those pesky fat cat Ethios, Kenyans, Ugandans, etc., keep eluding the tests. Maybe they ARE genetically superior after all.. for pure craftiness, lol.

bonzo wrote:

this is a dumb post..

when a single african (or american, or brit, etc..) is cranking out those same ridiculous performances year after year though so it seems consistent and believable to some, why shouldn't we suspect the same thing? Because you and a bunch of other people want to believe, for instance, that the poor africans are just that much better? Or last year when Webb was killing the mile and 1500m...you say "well he ran fast in high school so he's clean"?

everyone needs to wake up here. ALL top world-ranking performances now are highly suspect. There ARE africans who dope. There ARE americans, including distance runners, that dope. This is their profession...not a hobby...and for most it is necessary to dope in order to compete with other genetic freaks who dope.

Sir Lance-alot,

I don't know if I support your thesis or not. OTOH, the times from the Russian OT's did seem unbelievable.

While we are conjecturing, I have come to the conclusion that the Jamaican sprinters are most likely doping. I just can't believe that such a puny nation could produce so many top level athletes. It is just so improbable.

Then there's swimmer Dara Torres, talk about improbable..... What does Sir Lance think about her?

Uhh...what a surprise!

Oh those Russians indeed!

Point of clarification wrote:

Now if only the USA has the balls to do the same thing. Americans are always calling others guilty (what is the opinion of the Chinese) but have a rough time looking in the mirror.

How many think that the current group of chinese marathoners are drugged? How many believe that Alberto's crew is drugged?

Anybody who's competing at the top of the field is suspicious... sadly that's the way it is. You don't hear us calling out the male American distance runners because not many of them fall within that category.

Those that think Salazar's group is suspicious aren't thinking straight. Kara Goucher attracts attention because of her recent improvement, but if Salazar were doping his athletes we wouldn't see Adam crapping himself on the track.

The six suspended athletes are:

YELENA SOBOLEVA – 800m / 1500m

Russia’s #1 800m runner. Ranked #1 in the world this year with an unbelievable 1:54:85. Also ranked #1 in world this year in the 1500m with an unbelievable 3:56.92.

Note: The likely “drug free” world record at 800m is Mutola’s 1:55.19 (if she passes the gender test).

http://d.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com/ng/sp/p4/20080308/16/364403805.jpg

If not, then perhaps Janeth Jepkosgei (KEN) 1:56.94. At 1500m my guess is the drug free world record now belongs to Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BRN) 3:56.18.)

TATYANA TOMASHOVA – 1500m

Russia’s #2 1500m runner. Also ranked #2 in the world this year with a 3:59.42.

YULIA FOMENKO – 1500m

Russia’s #3 1500m runner, and ranked #7 in the world this year with a 4:00.57. So Russia loses its top-3, its entire Olympic Team in the 1500m. This is good news for all the clean 1500m athletes, especially Shannon Rowbury who now moves up to the #2 world rank this year, only behind Maryam Yusuf Jamal. Rowbury now appears to have an excellent shot at getting a silver medal.

SVETLANA CHERKASOVA – 800m

Russia’s #8 800m runner, and ranked #9 in world with a 1:58.37 this year. Only non-Russian on this year’s top-9 world ranking is #2 ranked Pamela Jelimo who some suspect might have problems with the newly announced gender tests at the Olympics.

http://d.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com/ng/sp/p4/20080601/17/2974843489.jpg

If Russia’s #1 and #8 800m runners are doping and they are all on the world top-10 list, it makes you wonder if #2 thru #7 are doping as well? Perhaps I’m wrong, but I recall reading that they all train at the same location. Can anyone confirm this? To they use the same coaching staff?

DARYA PISHCHALNIKOVA - Discus Throw

She is Russia’s #1 ranked discus thrower and also ranked #1 in the world this year. Last year she won the silver medal at the IAAF world championships is Osaka.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/01r253VeucfK0/610x.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.daylife.com/photo/01r253VeucfK0&h=536&w=610&sz=81&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=gZU4fnugd0e0HM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=136&prev=/images%3Fq%3DDARYA%2BPISHCHALNIKOVA%26hl%3Den%26rls%3DGGIH,GGIH:2007-02,GGIH:en

Who’s that man standing behind Darya in this photo?

GULFIYA KHANAFEYEVA – Hammer Throw

Russia’s #1 ranked hammer thrower and ranked #5 in the world this year. Would have been a serious contender for an Olympic medal.

I also read that this 7th athlete might have been suspended, but perhaps that was a mistake by the media.

OLGA YEGOROVA - 1500m / 5000m

Russia’s #9 ranked 1500m. Now age 36. Her best year was 2005 where she ran a 3:59.42 and was ranked #5 in the world.

SUMMARY:

5 of these 6 Russian athletes were headed to the Olympics. Four were medal contenders. This drug bust might have cost Russia 2-3 gold, 1 silver, and possibly 1 bronze medal.

The IAAF must now take a much closer look at:

• Russia’s 400m women who are now ranked #4, #7 & #8 in the world.

• Russia’s 6 remaining 800m women who are now ranked at #3, #4, #5, #6, #7 & #8 in the world. (#1 & #9 were caught in this urine substitution scheme.)

• Russia’s 2 remaining 1500m women who are now ranked #9 & #12 in the world (#1, #2 & #7 were caught.)

• Russia’s steeple women now ranked #1, #3 and #4 in the world.

• Russia’s 5000m runners who are now ranked #3 & #4 in the world, only behind Defar ad Dibaba.. Russia has 4 runners on this year’s world top-10 5000m list. That ties Ethiopia. Kenya has the other two. From 2003-2007, Russia never managed to place even one women on the world’s top-10 list.

• Russia’s 10,000m women who are now ranked #4 & #7 in the world. They are the only country with two women runners ranked on the top-7 this year.

Russia’s 800m women are of special concern. In 2007 Russia had only 2 women ranked on the top-10. This year they have 8 ranked on the top-9. Two have just been caught doping. The below performances raise additional suspicions:

#5 world ranked 800m female: Russian Ekaterina Kostetskaya

PR prior to ’08: 1:59.52 in ’07. Best ’08 time: 1:56.67 Improvement: 2.85 sec.

#6 world ranked 800m female: Russian Mariya Shapayeva

PR prior to ’08: 1:59.95 in ’07 Best ’08 time: 1:57.90 Improvement: 2:05 sec.

#7 world ranked 800m female: Russian Yevgeniya Zinurova

PR prior to ’08: 2:00.93 in ’07 Best ’08 time: 1:58.04 Improvement: 2.89 sec.

No country has ever dominated 400m thru 10,000m as much as has Russia has this year. Russia has 24 women runners ranked on the world’s top-10 across these six events: 400m(3), 800m(8), 1500m(4), steeple(3), 5000m(4) & 10,000m(2). That’s 24 out of a maximum possible of 60 worldwide. Russia now has 40% of the world’s top-10 women runners above 200m. Isn’t this suspicious?

Here is Russia’s trend for these 6 events: 400m/800m/1500m/steeple/5000m/10000m. (Data wasn’t available on IAAF’s website prior to 2002).

2002 1/3/2/0/1/1 = 8 on top-10 13% of total

2003 3/4/4/3/0/3 = 16 on top-10 26% of total

2004 4/5/4/2/0/1 = 16 on top-10 26% of total

2005 2/5/5/3/0/1 = 16 on top-20 26% of total

2006 4/5/5/3/0/3 = 20 on top-10 33% of total

2007 1/2/4/4/0/0 = 11 on top-10 18% of total

2008 3/8/4/3/4/2 = 24 on top-10 40% of total (Why the very large 1-year jump?)

The events most suspicious here are the women’s 800m and 5000m where Russia is dominating like never before.

All cheats ... don't you even think this is all of them ... go check the AFRICA nations athletes too!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/athletics/7535380.stm

Here's the list from the IAAF:

*Athletes provisionally suspended by the IAAF are:

Svetlana CHERKASOVA – 800m

Yulia FOMENKO – 1500m

Gulfiya KHANAFEYEVA – Hammer Throw

Darya PISHCHALNIKOVA - Discus Throw

Yelena SOBOLEVA – 800m / 1500m

Tatyana TOMASHOVA – 1500m

Olga YEGOROVA - 1500m / 5000m

Yes, Yelena is utterly hot, do like your anyway!!

http://www.sporting-heroes.net/athletics-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=6621

her

Wow! So not only are Russia’s top-3 1500m runners suspended (with ’08 world rankings of #1, # 2 & #7), Romania’s top-3 1500m runners (with ’08 world rankings of #5, #16 & #19) are suspended as well. That's 4 of the top 7 suspended at 1500m.

That leaves only

#3 3:59.99 MaryAm Yusuf Jamal (BRN) PR=3:56.18 in ’06 (Ran 3:58.75 in ‘07)

#4 4:00.33 Shannon Rowbury (USA) PR=4:00.33 in ‘08

#6 4:00.44 Gelete Burka (ETH) PR=3:59.60 in ’05 (Ran 4:00.48 in ’07)

#8 4:01.61 Iryna Lishchynska (UKR) PR=4:00.04 in ’06 (Ran 4:00.69 in ’07)

#9 4:02.02 Anna Alminova (RUS) PR=4:02.02 in ‘08

• Since Anna was Russia’s #4 runner and not on Russia’s Olympic Team, is it too late for Russia to get her into the Olympics as an alternate?

#10 4:02.37 Daniela Yordanova (BUL) (Ran 4:00.82 in ’07 and 3:59.38 in ’06)

Rowbury certainly doesn’t have a lock on a metal (all 5 competitors above could easily beat her), but if she runs very well, the silver isn’t out of the question. I do think Jamal now has a lock on the gold.

Surprise! wrote:

Point of clarification wrote:

or Adam Goucher or Ian Dobson or...........

Yeah, those guys must be doping since they just dropped the 1st and 2nd fastest times of the year at 5k and 10k.

Seriously, how is there suspicion for someone who runs 27:58 or something and 13:20 or so.

Absolutely, Goucher ran 13:10 right out of college and Dobson ran 13:15 while in college. Their recent times suggest to me that they are the lease likely candidates to be on drugs.

Fellas, most elite distance runners are taking as many LEGAL vitamins/supplements they can get their hands on to help them with recovery, avoiding injury etc. That is a FAR cry from taking PEDs. Do you understand the difference.

Both Ian and Goucher would have NO problem tap dancing on 13:00 if they were using PEDs.

These russian women are lighting the middle distance world on fire right now, and it was fairly obvious after those 800 meter marks we saw that there was some dirty business going on. This confirms it. It's a completely different story than a group of training partners who cannot, or can barely even win their trials in far less then world leading times.

MilanCholic wrote:

Yes, Yelena is utterly hot, do like your anyway!!

http://www.sporting-heroes.net/athletics-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=6621

I'm going to miss watching her, regardless of what she is on. Perhaps there should be an exemption for women who take drugs but are nice eye candy.

"The 6 suspended did not test positive for any substance, but the IAAF, by running DNA analysis on their samples, realized they were submitting fake samples for out of competition tests (which leads to involvement of some co-conspirators in the process). This shows the IAAF program to target suspected cheats (based on profiling samples) is making some progress, although it also shows the anti-doping authorities still cannot actually detect the drugs the cheats are taking."

Wejo, how does this prove that the IAAF can not detect the drugs they have been taking?? For all we know these athletes could have been submitting fake samples all along. I think your logic is flawed.

Are you suggesting my shot putting love woman is not woman! Aaaahhh!!! You mean hair on back of woman is not normal?

Out of competition testing catches a few Russian atheltes. Big shock, heh?

What about the Ethiopians then? No out of competition testing at all, because they are not of one of the 8 nations worldwide that do out of competition testing. They disappear into the mountains, so even if the IAAF wanted to catch them out of competition it would be unlikey they would find them to test them.

Remember Bekele's 18 year old fiance died of a heart attack while on a training run!

I have sympathy, I am Western and do not have financial concerns. But it isn't a level playing field. Paula and Jo Pavey have done very well to battle against science.

My suspicions are founded and are based relationships within the British running community.

Would you please list the 8 countries that do out-of-competition testing. That would be the US, UK, and who else? Is Kenya one of the countries?