To answer your question: Since 2015, doping has been defined as an official offense in Germany's comprehensive anti-doping law. The penalties are harsh (imprisonment).
Frederik Ruppert's PBs don't say much about his potential because he hasn't systematically completed 100-mile weeks so far.
I also don't believe that the 3000m steeplechase is such a popular discipline, where the greatest runners, numerous coaches and scientists are pushing the boundaries. We have seen in the pole vault and also in the 400m hurdles what happens when interest increases and competition becomes tighter.
ARD investigations reveal that Germany's doping hunters have not published the names of convicted dopers for years due to data protection risks. This has not even been noticed by many sports insiders.
Names withheld: 76 unknown German dopers Stand: 25.05.2025 18:33 Uhr
ARD investigations reveal that Germany's doping hunters have not published the names of convicted dopers for years due to data protection risks. This has not even been noticed by many sports insiders. Von Hajo Seppelt, Jörg Winterfeldt, Nick Butler, Lea Löffler and Paola Mester The most astonishing thing is how long the secrecy went unnoticed. Since March 2020, NADA has stopped publishing the names of those sanctioned for doping. It only compiles statistics once a year, usually sometime in June, which also lists the numbers of positive doping tests in Germany. However, NADA no longer names the cheats.
1. A 28-year old going from 8:15 to 8:01 in the steeplechase is unprecedented and raised A TON of red flags. All the more so since Ruppert appears to be a steeplechaser first and foremost and has competed in the even every year of his professional career.
2. Double threshold does appear to have unlocked potential in Central/Western/Northern European runners (and white American and Australian runners) at the middle distances between 800 and 5,000. That said, was Ruppert that undertrained that it could have this big of an effect?
3. Dieter Baumann was 100% guilty and it was BS that he got off. Nandralone levels that high are a clear sign of doping and a "tainted" anything excuse, especially toothpaste, is a complete lie.
The West German government helped fund a wide-scale doping programme from the 1970s onwards, with evidence of drug use among the country’s athletes stretching back to the 1950s, according to a leaked…
Yes. Well known since at least the mid 80s. As for (West German) Dieter, well that's when he started competing, so his doping wasn't exactly surprising.
One thing is us on the forum being suspicious of this guy. What do his competitors around the world think about dropping 2.8%, or 14 seconds, in your main event at 28 years old?
It's the same as going from 2:05:00 to 2:01:28, or from 3:34.00 to 3:27.94. What are the chances that you're one of the most gifted athletes ever but you just didn't realize it until you're pushing 30?
Unless someone else drops a sub 7:50 WR this season to prove the event was soft, the red flag stays. Imagine if we were sent a hypothetical list of 20 anonymous athletes and their progressions, with Katir and Ruppert among those 20, and at the same time we were told that there is only one cheater in the pack.
I bet most would pick Ruppert's profile before Katir's.
One thing is us on the forum being suspicious of this guy. What do his competitors around the world think about dropping 2.8%, or 14 seconds, in your main event at 28 years old?
It's the same as going from 2:05:00 to 2:01:28, or from 3:34.00 to 3:27.94. What are the chances that you're one of the most gifted athletes ever but you just didn't realize it until you're pushing 30?
Unless someone else drops a sub 7:50 WR this season to prove the event was soft, the red flag stays. Imagine if we were sent a hypothetical list of 20 anonymous athletes and their progressions, with Katir and Ruppert among those 20, and at the same time we were told that there is only one cheater in the pack.
I bet most would pick Ruppert's profile before Katir's.
Once you factor in that 30 - 60% at the top are doping, you realize that everyone who stands out, either with their progression, times, or wins, is cheating.
And here the coach - as coach and spouse of a drug cheat - comes on top of that.
One thing is us on the forum being suspicious of this guy. What do his competitors around the world think about dropping 2.8%, or 14 seconds, in your main event at 28 years old?
It's the same as going from 2:05:00 to 2:01:28, or from 3:34.00 to 3:27.94. What are the chances that you're one of the most gifted athletes ever but you just didn't realize it until you're pushing 30?
Unless someone else drops a sub 7:50 WR this season to prove the event was soft, the red flag stays. Imagine if we were sent a hypothetical list of 20 anonymous athletes and their progressions, with Katir and Ruppert among those 20, and at the same time we were told that there is only one cheater in the pack.
I bet most would pick Ruppert's profile before Katir's.
The event is soft in the sense that there are very few pace setters, unlike the 5000, for example.
El Bakkali is "only" 9th on the all time list up till now, with 7:56.68, Rabat, 2023. Girma, 7:52.11, is the fastest achieved in Paris, 2023 - then a list of 6 Kenyans (including former Kenya turned Qatari, Shaheen) ...ahead of Soufiane. Soufiane should really be at 7:50-7:53, but he rarely has the opportunity. He's a Championship racer, and winner. Boulami, fellow Moroccan, is also ahead of him, with 7:55.28, but most people suspect doping for that monster result (in 2001!!!).
Soufiane has a 3:31.95 from Doha in 2021, but if he focused on 1500, I think he has 3:29.00 in him. His 3k time of 7:33.87 (2023), is not where it should be. He's worth 7:23-7:26, logically. Taking all this into account, Soufiane should really be at around 7:50.00, or faster in the chase. It's a rare event with few opps to run fast. Championship races are usually tactical, which suits the tall, gangly (but well coordinated) Moroccan, as he can finish races with lethal last laps.
its a shame people don't know how to use the word "random"
I sincerely apologize for this grave error on my part. I plan on taking an extended hiatus from LetsRun and using that time to reflect on my actions and their resulting impact on this community. I can and will do better and hope you will allow me to do so.
its a shame people don't know how to use the word "random"
I sincerely apologize for this grave error on my part. I plan on taking an extended hiatus from LetsRun and using that time to reflect on my actions and their resulting impact on this community. I can and will do better and hope you will allow me to do so.
He is an Olympian and placed fourth in the Euro Champs in Rome last year, he is hardly a "random German" if you actually pay attention to steeple races.
I have read an article on sport1 de. Please translate it with a browser tool on your own. Isabelle Baumann and Ruppert talk about what happened, what they expected before the race and of course about skeptical questions.
Addendum, quotes from another interview (Bild de), translated with Google.
"I've improved since winning the U23 European Championship in 2019, but I was never able to deliver on my potential. I haven't had a race yet where I pushed myself to the limit and where everything went right."
"The improvement in my personal best has to be put into perspective, because I didn't have a single race in 2024 where I set the pace. The runs were all tactical. I already had the form for an 8:10 last year."
"I focused on being very thin. I weigh 69 kg at 1.84 meters. At the Olympics, I was even only 66 kg. But just being light isn't always the best way."
He is an Olympian and placed fourth in the Euro Champs in Rome last year, he is hardly a "random German" if you actually pay attention to steeple races.
There’s a boatload of random 8:15 euro finalists who have also made the Olympics. But this is a guy who just transformed from another one of ‘those guys’ to the third fastest time in the last 13 years, and the fastest European (non-transplant) ever.
