Daily debate: If Rudisha, Kiprop, Kemboi, or Farah tested positive - which one would upset you the most? The least?

First, I will say I think that all of these guys are doping.

To answer the question;

Most upset: probably Rudisha because one of the best races I have every scene would be severely tainted.

Least Upset: Farah. Can't wait for it to happen.

I don't know if any of them would upset me. Certainly none of them would surprise me, but maybe I am at the point that I am incapable of being surprised by doping positives.

probably kiprop - he seems to be a true sportsman and it's easy to root for him.

br0ski wrote:

First, I will say I think that all of these guys are doping.

To answer the question;

Most upset: probably Rudisha because one of the best races I have every scene would be severely tainted.

But you already believe Rudisha is doping so why would you be upset?

Because everyone else will dismiss him and that performance. I don't even though I believe it was aided. It was still an amazing race to watch.

Rudisha would upset me the most. (using a very loose definition of the word 'upset')

Farah would upset me the least. The suspicion is already there.

Kemboi would upset me the least. I have no strong feelings about the guy. For the "Most," I should say Farah, because I think it would be very damaging to the sport. But on a ore personal level, my admiration for Rudisha is great, so his positive would be more upsetting.

In order of most to least disappointed:

Rudisha- not necessarily because he is immune from suspicion but because it would taint the magnificence of the 2012 800m final

Kemboi/Kiprop- probably even, I have enjoyed watching both but I wouldn't be surprised

Farah- definitely wouldn't be surprised, only reservation would be the extent to which it would devastate British athletics as a whole

Rudisha because I think the 800 is at least feasible to be the best without doping. Too short for EPO to really be effective, maybe a bit too long for steroids. I know there are other things, and the top guys probably use everything anyway.

Kiprop is too good to be true. I think we all generally accept the "dirtiness" of El G, Ngeny, even Lagat with his positive A/negative B samples. To run in their class does not seem likely.

Don't really care about the steeplechase. Sorry Kemobi.

Farah...his times aren't suspicious in and of themselves (ok well maybe the double 3:28s are)...it's his dominance and from after years of being a mid packer that make me suspicious. Would not surprise me at all if he tested positive.

How does a discussion like this, in any way help the sport?

None of these guys have ever returned a positive sample. Even the "rumors" about Farah have more to do with his coach and little, if anything, actually directed towards him.

This kind of gossipy dribbling by anonymous trolls is one thing, but served up on a forum by the site hosts is miserable.

Wouldn't upset me at all. In fact, if they don't dope, I encourage them to.

That would level the playing field.

Farah testing positive would bring me great joy.

LetsRun.com wrote:

That's a question we pose in the 2nd installment of our 2016 staff debate where we talk about what the upcoming 2016 season.

http://www.letsrun.com/?p=99582

We also ask - Will Mo Farah win double gold? Will Tirunesh Dibaba win triple gold? Will Kenenisa Bekele even compete?

I'm going to go out on a limb in the other direction from just about everyone else on this thread. I actually truly believe that all four of them are clean.

Which would disappoint me the most? Either Kiprop or Farah. Kiprop because watching him run his 3:26 performance, in my mind, was watching the clean world record. The general consensus, even in my mind, is that El G doped (along with everyone else from that era). If Kiprop goes too, then I have a tougher time arriving at a "clean" world record holder. Farah would be close for me, mostly because that instantly taints the Oregon Project (I do not believe they are doping either). If Mo ever tested positive, that would very likely mean Rupp/Centro/etc are positive too.

Least upsetting would be Kemboi. I think he's awesome, and I love his victory celebrations, but other than that I have no real attachment to him or to the steeple frankly. My disappointment would be no more or less than it would be for any other elite runner that I don't already suspect of cheating.

Most upsetting: Rudisha. he seems like a cool guy.

Least: Farah. I have said this a million times but his transition from "not in medal contention " in 2010 to "nigh-unbeatable" from 2011-2015 defies belief. If the things he and Salazar credit with getting him there -- lifting, nutrition, pace of easy runs -- could create that kind of change, everyone would be doing it. The prior likelihood of that being true was just so low.

Kemboi, I would not care. The steeplechase seems like a strange event at the international level. I do not know what to make of the long-term dominance of a few runners.

I guess I would be upset most of Kemboi is doping. That would mean that Jager should be in the discussion of greatest steepler in the world. Had Kemboi not been in the final last year, it would have been wide open and likely Jager would get a medal, maybe gold.

Also, it would get him out of the sport and right now any race that Kemboi is in is a must-watch.

Kiprop is great, but the 1500 is so deep now that even if he wasn't in the final you would still get a hell of a show if Mahkloufi, Manganoi, Kiplagat, Centro, and Souleiman are in the race.

ScottEvil wrote:

Least: Farah. I have said this a million times but his transition from "not in medal contention " in 2010 to "nigh-unbeatable" from 2011-2015 defies belief. If the things he and Salazar credit with getting him there -- lifting, nutrition, pace of easy runs -- could create that kind of change, everyone would be doing it. The prior likelihood of that being true was just so low.

.

It only defies belief if you believe in that incorrect idea a million times. Farah is winning now because all of the real competition has left. Bekele himself even said this.

Your other idea about "everybody would be doing it" makes no sense. How would everyone be doing it without knowing exactly what they are doing????

I don't see a reason to feel any differently about any of them on a positive test.

I'm more upset that the tests do nothing to distinguish which athletes are actually doping vs. which are good at getting away with it.

It's almost like we arbitrarily ban certain athletes and laud the others.

oh please wrote:

Rudisha because I think the 800 is at least feasible to be the best without doping. Too short for EPO to really be effective, maybe a bit too long for steroids. I know there are other things, and the top guys probably use everything anyway.

Kiprop is too good to be true. I think we all generally accept the "dirtiness" of El G, Ngeny, even Lagat with his positive A/negative B samples. To run in their class does not seem likely.

Don't really care about the steeplechase. Sorry Kemobi.

Farah...his times aren't suspicious in and of themselves (ok well maybe the double 3:28s are)...it's his dominance and from after years of being a mid packer that make me suspicious. Would not surprise me at all if he tested positive.

Steroids will help in the 800 - much harder training can be undertaken in terms of speedier recovery and the beneficial effects to be had from this, and EPO helps in this area as well. The use of EPO will also allow one to go faster and a bit farther before the inevitable bear on the back in the 800.

I don't think this is a fair post. All these men have is their integrity. This is exactly the same as asking which of four men beat their wives or rape their children. If one has specific evidence against anyone, bring it. If one has over whelming circumstantial evidence, bring it.