Nick Willis and John Walker say it like it is.

Nick 'The Man' Willis is the only runner I trust and support these days.

On a shock scale of zero to 10 it's a zero - the only surprise is that the information actually got leaked.

Should be QOD

I love how every athletes is very quick to point fingers at other countries but declares his own country magically clean.

You might want to catch up on some recent news.

What you talkin' bout Willis? wrote:

I love how every athletes is very quick to point fingers at other countries but declares his own country magically clean.

He sis not declare New Zealand clean. He quoted from the report that New Zealand had the fewest suspicious results and then mentioned that he didn't want Kiwis to be too complacent about their cleanliness.

From the Old School wrote:

Great read:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/athletics/news/article.cfm?c_id=19&objectid=11491256&ref=rss

Nick Willis thinks he's the only one in the world that can defy age and break 3:30 twice... and win a medal. Personally, I'm getting sick of his grandstanding. For once I would like to hear an athlete say, "If I can do it, than I believe my direct competitors are clean." We'll never hear that from Willis.

I read the story. Sounds like a middle school lunch room drama. The proof Willis has is that he thinks the bad kids sit together.

Getting sick of this nonsense. How about a new rule?: Either provide facts or STFU.

I missed the part where he said he's the only one who can run under 3:30 who's older than 30. Could you point it out?

On another note, you cannot provide "facts" publicly on this sort of topic assuming the facts you want are names and accusations. You open yourself up to libel suits. STFUing provides no pressure on people running the sport to make changes. Pointing out that the problem is a lot worse than most fans believe it is at least generates that sort of pressure.

We\'ve got a new Kara wrote:

From the Old School wrote:

Great read:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/athletics/news/article.cfm?c_id=19&objectid=11491256&ref=rss

I read the story. Sounds like a middle school lunch room drama. The proof Willis has is that he thinks the bad kids sit together.

Getting sick of this nonsense. How about a new rule?: Either provide facts or STFU.

The \"facts\" are that Lance never failed a doping test. (Well maybe a few, but he was able to cover them up.) Willis has an excellent point in that you can tell a lot about somebody\'s behavior in secret by how they respond to conversation about that behavior in public.

I would love for an athlete like Nick Willis who make these type of statements to volunteer themselve for unannounced 24/7 blood testing as well as polygraph testing.

HRE wrote:

On another note, you cannot provide "facts" publicly on this sort of topic assuming the facts you want are names and accusations. You open yourself up to libel suits.

In America it is nearly impossible for a public figure to win a libel suit. Just leak the facts to an American.

Hell, just leak them anonymously to a file-sharing site in Tonga or Montenegro.

From someone on the inside let me just say that Nick Willis has been tested a zillion times and all over the world at all times of the day throughout his career.

Did you even read the article, he stated he doesn''t care when it is regarding drug testing. Have you ever read anything he's stated when asked about drugs in the sport? The guy is an open book.

Grandstanding? What the heck are you talking about? The guy has always said it like it is. He's always taken 100% responsibility for an "off" race in his career. You mentioned him breaking 3:30, yeah he did it twice in Monaco in races where he was 7th and 5th, it's not like he was out there blowing away the competition.

The guy could write a book about what it's really like on the inside in the sport, he's a solid good judge of character and he's pretty much seen it all during his career. He's extremely respected by his competitors and you don't get selected by your countrymen to carry your country's flag into the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games for being a jerk.

Whatever axe you have to grind is from somewhere outside of the sport.

I get the impression that Willis has too much integrity to leak something or accuse someone of something unless he had irrefutable proof. That's very hard to come by and it's not his job. But anyone who cares for the sport and knows what's going on is doing the sport a disservice by pretending there's no problem.

Full Interview here http://www.radiosport.co.nz/on-demand/audio/nick-willis-no-surprise-at-doping-allegations/

Movin' To Kenya wrote:

I would love for an athlete like Nick Willis who make these type of statements to volunteer themselve for unannounced 24/7 blood testing as well as polygraph testing.

By competiting in IAAF events Willis already is available for 24/7 unannounced blood tests....except in Russia, and Kenya, and Ethiopia, and Moe Farrah, and NOP, and Paula R.

coach d wrote:

On a shock scale of zero to 10 it's a zero - the only surprise is that the information actually got leaked.

Should be QOD

I was very close to making that QOD, but I checked and Willis was just quote of the day less than 2-weeks ago. Not that there's a limit on how often someone can get the QOD, but we try and spread it around. I will mention it to Rojo though for the Week that Was.

of course i cant know it for sure. but willis seems to be one of these rare persons i could trust in.

not to forget: his endurance looks like to be very specific (1500m), while his 3k or 5k pbs are somehow "human".

personally speaking i am alarmed at 1500m runners being capable of running every distance with apparent ease and superb results, from 800m to 5k or even 10k.

That would be...Alan Webb.

mr.sj wrote:

of course i cant know it for sure. but willis seems to be one of these rare persons i could trust in.

not to forget: his endurance looks like to be very specific (1500m), while his 3k or 5k pbs are somehow "human".

personally speaking i am alarmed at 1500m runners being capable of running every distance with apparent ease and superb results, from 800m to 5k or even 10k.

Movin' To Kenya wrote:

I would love for an athlete like Nick Willis who make these type of statements to volunteer themselve for unannounced 24/7 blood testing as well as polygraph testing.

Polygraph testing? Seriously?

Do you also want someone to read his aura and a psychic to find out if he's been cheating in any of his past lives?

VoR wrote:

Movin' To Kenya wrote:

I would love for an athlete like Nick Willis who make these type of statements to volunteer themselve for unannounced 24/7 blood testing as well as polygraph testing.

Polygraph testing? Seriously?

Do you also want someone to read his aura and a psychic to find out if he's been cheating in any of his past lives?

Now that should be QOD!

Willis' word is gold. He is one guy I completely trust. Ups and downs he never makes excuses, says exactly how it is. He's completely open about his training and racing.