More Kenyan athletes caught doping

Who?

Recovering Jogger wrote:

From the LRC front page:

http://www.coastweek.com/3752-sports-10.htm

We have seen a deluge of doping reports in the past few weeks. Personally, I am saddened, but beyond that it has no bearing on my love for the sport. How does this affect you?

I see the Kenyans as very susceptible- to unscrupulous coaches and agents.

The money, relatively minor to a Westerner is mega bucks to them.

In a way, I'm happy IF this explains their dominance.

If this levels the playing field I'll be very happy to watch a marathon that is truly Multi-national.

Examples of what I mean- check out videos of Rotterdam, NYC, London back in the early 80's. Or even the World XC races of the 70's & 80's, before Kenyan and Ethiopian dominance.

Could this also inspire some American and European kids to start training harder? There COULD be hope!

Recovering Jogger wrote:

From the LRC front page:

http://www.coastweek.com/3752-sports-10.htm

We have seen a deluge of doping reports in the past few weeks. Personally, I am saddened, but beyond that it has no bearing on my love for the sport. How does this affect you?

Most have this thing call "a life" and could give 2 stinky $hits what some poor Kenyan is doing to crawl out of his impoverished situation on the other side of The Globe.

"The number is over 200. But only 32 were nabbed,” Wonder if anyone still believes Canova's crock about how top athletes don't cheat.

Edward Teach wrote:

"The number is over 200. But only 32 were nabbed,” Wonder if anyone still believes Canova's crock about how top athletes don't cheat.

It would be naive to think that the absolute best Athletes in the World at any sport aren't on something.

Drugs and profe$$ional sports go hand in hand.

Damning stuff from AK and AK President Isaiah Kiplagat, for them to admit to a problem and hopefully finally do something about it is the equivalent to cutting off their nose to spite their face. If the talk of corruption and siphoning off of athletes winnings etc is to be believed then the gravy train is coming to a screeching halt for them.

How does it affect me or my love of the sport? It's pretty obvious, I think, that you can't take elite side of the sport seriously any more. We have no way of knowing who's clean and who (if anybody) isn't, so we play these ridiculous games of trying to put faith in certain runners who seem nice, or have an innocent look about them, or else we make up weird rationales like "they were really good at a young age, so they are probably legit."

The truth is we don't know who the best runners are, or what the "clean" world records are, and I'm not sure it would be that interesting to find out. It would be like finding out that the fastest clean rider in the TdF was the guy in 83rd place. It wouldn't really mean much, because the athlete competed on such a skewed field, it would be impossible to tell how things would have turned out if everybody had been clean.

"We punish and warn these athletes not to get caught doping."

Maybe we can chalk this up to a language barrier, but wouldn't "warn these athletes not to dope" be better here?

Charlie Sollers wrote:

"We punish and warn these athletes not to get caught doping."

Maybe we can chalk this up to a language barrier, but wouldn't "warn these athletes not to dope" be better here?

Well, maybe it was a "language" thing, but I suspect that what Kiplagat said here expressed the sentiment quite well (if only inadvertently). You certainly see this attitude among professional bike racers: that which is prohibited is not doping per se but, rather, getting caught doping.

It is a rationalization that becomes reality to the athlete. Failing a doping test is the impermissible act. Doping itself is not impermissible, provided one does not thereafter fail a doping test. Indeed, I believe that the athlete comes to convince him or herself that, if they do not fail a test, then they aren't truly doping at all.

I still think that many of the great Kenyan runners of the 80s and 90s were clean. I'd also like to think that not all world class Kenyans today are dirty. But who can say for certain? That's the really insidious thing about drugs in sport.

Speaking of PEDs, it's amazing how blatant doping is in American professional sports like football. JJ Watt puts the East Germany shot put team of the 1970s to shame, and not one soul on the major American TV networks has a hint of suspicion!

"The number is over 200. But only 32 were nabbed"

200 suspected dopers?

runn wrote:

I see the Kenyans as very susceptible- to unscrupulous coaches and agents.

The money, relatively minor to a Westerner is mega bucks to them.

Very true.

Also, think of the thresholds involved. Even with no guarantee or even likelihood of becoming a world-beater, doping might take a "subelite" Kenyan from being a face in the crowd in Eldoret to getting into European meets and US/Euro road races. Even picking up minor placings there is BIG money to most of these guys. I'm thinking of the difference between a 13:3x ability guy in Kenya and a 13:0x performer.

On the other hand, there is RELATIVELY little pay-off for the sub-elite American running, say, 14:3x. Even if he gets to 14:0x...then what? It's not like there will be a life-changing windfall of cash for that. The risk-vs-reward picture is not so favorable when the likely reward isn't so massive.

The reward isn't always in $$$$$$$$$$$, oftentimes it is in EGO!

Charles Marlow wrote:

I'd also like to think that not all world class Kenyans today are dirty. But who can say for certain? That's the really insidious thing about drugs in sport.

I can say for certain that not ALL world class Kenyans today are dirty.

You're welcome.

I've lost a lot of respect for the Kenyan distance runners, just as I've lost a lot of respect for the top end American sprinters.

It's a real shame.

As Dylan put it, "I used to care, but things have changed."

"16 more cases have not been reported because the AK cannot track down the suspected athletes to hear their version of the story."

If they cannot be tracked down to give their side of the story, how can they be tracked down for out-of-competition testing?

Querfeldein wrote:

"16 more cases have not been reported because the AK cannot track down the suspected athletes to hear their version of the story."

If they cannot be tracked down to give their side of the story, how can they be tracked down for out-of-competition testing?

Why even listen to their side of the story?

Toothpaste?

Over the counter supplements?

penile enlargement?

Must be one of these.

I'd love to know what bekele and Haile were on in their prime.

^ Exactly. JJ Watt is so on something it is blatantly obvious. Recently heard T Suggs on Dan Patrick and when the subject of JJ Watt was brought up Suggs did. It in any way compliment him. All of the players know he is enhancing his performance.