Mo Trafeh, 2-time FL finallist, 8-time US champ, US 25k record holder, has been caught with EPO, will retire from sport

PEDs use is done by people who don't have the money to access to special "services." The real action is with the unknown gray-zone "things" that are going on.

oh boy toy wrote:

Bad timing for such a lackluster story. The brothers could have saved it for after USATF's, but their ego got in the way. Hapless work on.

Funny timing on this. I remember watching Trafeh run well at HS state meets many many years ago in none other than...Sacramento.

I'm just about to go to college and wasn't paying attnetion to this guy years ago so need your help with his back stroy.

Can someone tell me why this guy who was very good in HS was suspected by many to be a drug cheat? Was it simply he was from Morocco? What else was there? He was 7th at FL as a junior so I don't get how everyone seemed to know his marks as a pro were illegitimate.

It seems like the dirty little secret that everyone knew but why?

it's mostly b/c he went from struggling to break 30min/14min/66min, to running low 28's, 60flat, and 42/43min in the 15k, in a matter of months, essentially. you don't drop minutes, even in the 1/2 marathon, and especially not at that level.

curt kobaine wrote:

Yes he's a liar and a cheater. The second he got caught with EPO was the second that would eventually go public. This is a "breaking story", but it would've broken whether or not rojo asked those questions. This isn't about making him seem like he's not a cheater. It's about creating a source.

When a criminal is apprehended and he has information about other, bigger criminals, do the cops go for the juggler? No, they create a system of trust with that criminal; one which will allow them to get information from him. Now, the criminal still goes down, but he ends up taking others with him.

And how well has that worked out for you? How many PED-using drug cheats have been caught by lame acceptance of such obvious BS? I'm glad the brojos asked the questions, and then when they were given no answers, they published the questions to expose how pathetic Trafeh's statement is. Maybe more people will continue badgering Trafeh until he admits there's more than what he has already admitted.

And don't forget lots of sports journalists turn to this site for info. Maybe other sports writers will want answers as well.

My gosh, that might have been the worst line of questioning I have ever heard or read. This will probably come across as quite barbed, but please, Brojos, enroll in some journalism courses so that you can improve your journalistic skills. While many people (myself included) would like the uncover the full truth behind this whole situation, that process isn't simply done by asking blunt questions that attack. No matter the interviewee, you have to ease your way into the interrogating and pry for more info rather than dropkick the door down.

lots of questions wrote:

As for Rojo's questions, anyone who follows Let's Run knows where they stand on PED use. I don't think anyone would expect "softball" questions from them. The cheater should be able to see right through that even if Rojo tried asking them in a soft way.

Yet he did not get any of his questions answered. A "softball" question is not the same as a professional question. I appreciate rojo's passion, but if you want the truth, you need to set an unbiased tone. Truth is fact, not opinion, so anything that resembles an opinion won't be taken seriously.

curt kobaine wrote:

Yes he's a liar and a cheater. The second he got caught with EPO was the second that would eventually go public. This is a "breaking story", but it would've broken whether or not rojo asked those questions. This isn't about making him seem like he's not a cheater. It's about creating a source.

When a criminal is apprehended and he has information about other, bigger criminals, do the cops go for the juggler? No, they create a system of trust with that criminal; one which will allow them to get information from him. Now, the criminal still goes down, but he ends up taking others with him.

Come off it, man. Nobody who spells jugular like "juggler" has the subtle, manipulative cunning that you claim.

lots of questions wrote:

I, too, struggle to believe he got caught on his first attempt. On one hand, it's not very encouraging that he passed all those drug tests.

No surprise at all. He was very talented. He started losing some speed, or didn't have the time to train like a madman anymore. He needed a boost. He took something. He got caught.

There is no reason to believe he has been doing it all along. That said, they should retest his old samples to see if there was anything missed, and if it was missed, how did the testing labs botch the job.

I might be the only one on here but I'm frankly surprised. I did not see this coming. Maybe I expect the best of people/trust they will run legitimately. Huh. Guess not. Sad day.

I fail to understand why people assume someone who is caught taking something must have been taking the something since they started competing.

Even the most virile 18-year old male, will look enhance their performance when they get older.

As an obsessed high school runner with terrible times, I always looked at the high school elites during my time as inspiration. Mo Trafeh was it. Coming from Duarte HS and competing in the CIF southern section IN D4, Trafeh was like a god. From the top of my head, I remember seeing him run a sub 1436 (??) at Mt Sac and thinking how much I wanted to be like him. On a different occasion, in 2003 I was a 446 miler on our team's 4x1600 at Arcadia. During our cool down, I saw Mo and just said how much I looked up to him and wished him the best in tomorrow's 2mile against the elites. Who does that?! As the big age of dyestatcal and letsrun were getting started, I worshipped the high school runners that would appear on the front page and in the message boards..Sadly, Mo didn't win the 2mile at Arcadia, but i still believed he was going to be one of the greatest runners in America.

Men 3200 Meter Run Invitational

=======================================================================

Name Year School Finals Points

=======================================================================

1 Solinsky, Chris 12 Stevens Point 8:43.24

2 Vaughn, Brent 12 Smoky Hill,Auror 8:45.60

3 Moe, Carl 12 Auburn River 8:48.04

4 Curtis, Bobby 12 St Xavier,KY 8:48.39

5 Debole, Matt 12 Mount Tabor 8:50.16

6 Hassen, Steven 12 Vanguard HS 8:52.75

7 Ruiz, Manuel 12 Monroe High 8:55.80

8 Trafeh, Mohamed 11 Duarte High 8:55.87

9 Kollar, Christopher 12 Strongsville 8:56.35

10 Nelson, Tim 12 Liberty Chri 8:58.89

11 Alizzi, Mark 12 Syosset High 8:59.63

12 Dalpiaz, Brian 12 Sayville High,NY 9:01.20

13 Romero, Alex 12 Albuquerque 9:02.77

14 Hampton, Charles 11 Brophy Colle 9:04.62

15 Burrell, Ian 12 Air Academy 9:04.78

16 Ramos, Austin 12 Jesuit HS 9:07.17

17 DeVries, Hakon 11 John Jay (Ny 9:10.44

18 Cardenas, Jonathon 11 Reno HS (Nv) 9:12.92

19 Mineau, Jeremy 11 Menlo-Atherton 9:15.30

20 Poe, Mike 12 Etiwanda 9:23.34

21 Wall, Alec 12 Grant (Or) 9:24.10

22 Alcorn, Kyle 12 Buchanan,Clovis 9:31.36

Crazy to see those names. Kyle Alcorn for one cominb out of Buchanan was another godly figures.

When i first read about the rumors of blood doping, I immediately thought of Mo JUST BECAUSE OF THE RUMORS and shit talking people would give after eevery competion Mo ran in. Please don't this be true.

I'm not surprised at all. I thought he was one of those runners who was suspected of being dirty and just expected to be busted eventually. Reminds me of Ramzi. Everybody knew he was dirty. Everybody just wondered when it would come out.

Dude went to the airport with drugs. Not too smart is he.

His nick name among other professional athletes for years was "Mo P.O." for fvck's sake...they referred to him by this nick name regularly and none-too-subtly.

The dude was repeatedly slinking off to the most PED-rampant country in distance running history and returning to literally run twice as well before, all in short time frames and you "did not see this coming?" I hope you are not employed in a position of responsibility or character assessment.

electron1661 wrote:

I might be the only one on here but I'm frankly surprised. I did not see this coming. Maybe I expect the best of people/trust they will run legitimately. Huh. Guess not. Sad day.

I appreciate the transparency in divulging the e-mail and questions you sent.

That said, the mode of inquiry comes off as rather bush league. There are better ways to frame the questions that are still effective and critical.

This question, for instance, seems to presume guilt, and is clearly sardonic in tone:

"2. You do realize that your story line is something that most people will find hard to believe, right?"

Yes, the dude is a cheater, but I can really sense the finger-wagging through the screen; or maybe you are attempting to show, understandably, that you guys play hardball and want real answers. I get this, especially given how many times other media outlets have blown it. I also get why he didn't want to respond to you. Why would any criminal respond to an angry journalist who already appears so intractable and disbelieving when he or she doesn't have to?

Wild Duck Wisperer wrote:

His nick name among other professional athletes for years was "Mo P.O." for fvck's sake...they referred to him by this nick name regularly and none-too-subtly.

If this is true, we want to hear it.

If you are current or ex elite and would like to speak to us, please email

or call 844-LetsRun. You can keep your confidentiality.

So LaCour thinks "Your questions were understandably insulting to Mohamed", I wonder if LaCour and Mohamed think followers and those involved in running/T&F feel insulted.