Shameful: Drug cheat Liza Hunter-Galvan wins $10,000 at 2015 Boston Marathon

Judge Judy wrote:

Penal system wrote:

So you folks don't believe in giving someone a second chance?

No.

That's un-American. Please leave on the next boat.

in a pickle wrote:

This doesn't excuse the BAA for not doing their research, but she's also a well known doper too. They're in a bit of a pickle now, unless they're anti-doping policy can prevent them from paying her. How will John Hancock feel about writing a $10,000 check to a doper?

It would actually not surprise me at all to learn that whoever assigned Liza Hunter-Galvan her bib number did not know her doping history. She may seem high-profile to Letsrun regulars, but in truth her suspension ended four years ago and she doesn't appear to have run any U.S. marathons since 2011 (San Antonio). Unless the workings of this arm of the BAA have changed drastically in the past couple of years, they typically use a pre-determined cut-off time to assign numbers to the quasi-elite, e.g., masters, men under 2:28-ish, local women under 2:50-ish. For masters women, I believe this time was 2:52 or 2:53 for the 2014 race. They do not, in other words, run around looking for fast age-groupers to run -- they don't have to.

Now that the masters' race was won in a startlingly slow time (even allowing for the weather) and the winner is someone known to have used EPO, I'm sure the BAA isn't especially pleased at the result, especially since the specter of Jeptoo will be floating around for a while. But what can they really do?

No. She ran the Dallas Marathon and got third in December and there was a high profile article on her and the other drug cheat who did win Dallas. Most people would have thought the heat was too much and eased away not wanting to bring more attention to their status as a cheater.

Anyone who runs down here in the Austin/San Antonio area has heard for years that Liza was cheating. In SA people still fawn over her and she showed up to several races during her ban. She didn't enter but ran with friends.

She obviously has no concern about what she stole from others but then again, most thieves don't.

Penal system wrote:

So you folks don't believe in giving someone a second chance?

In theory I do.

I would be more willing to give people second chances, as in, be okay with them racing and winning money again, if the consequences for getting busted were more severe.

1) The suspension period should be longer (I know it was recently (re) increased to 4 years, but that's still not long enough imo).

2) They should have to pay back money they won before they're allowed to compete again.

3) There should be a criminal charge associated with this. It is fraud.

The risks need to outweigh the rewards. And if they cheated, got caught and did the things outlined above, I would be okay with them competing again.

She ran Dallas in December, a month after she won Auckland. She's 45. This is not excusable. Boston needs to have a re-evaluation of who they let into their elite start. In a few yrs Jeptoo could weasel her way into the elite start through the BAA free race number route, if they're truly this naive.

EPO Liza Hunter-Galvan wrote:

Maybe it's time for athletic governing bodies to recognize another competitive grouping. Let's call the first group natural and the second group Juiced. If an athlete has ever taken a enhancing drug then they move up into the juiced division. Simple.

Which includes 99 percent of runners in the US.

trent wrote:

Do the effects of EPO truly wear off?

They never wear off and they make the person a super human being in all ways.

get used to it.. wrote:

A bigger WTF to anyone who believes anyone is clean. I am sure there are some but can you really be sure anyone is? Just because someone gets caught doesn't mean they catch everyone. Its all a circus. They should just skip the charade and let everyone compete and just assume everyone is doping somehow.

I agree with this.

It's a big charade, nothing else, and it's time to move on.

Female masters winner, Gavan-Hunter finishes her 2 year ban, gets invited runner status from Hancock and picks up 10K for winning the masters. WTF!!

Penal system wrote:

So you folks don't believe in giving someone a second chance?

No, not with intentional doping. To me, intentional doping (which EPO clearly is) should require a mandatory of life in imprisonment without parole. A lifetime ban from the sport.

Well, that's not true. She does get a second chance. A second chance to contribute to society in a positive way instead of stealing from others - just not in running. Studies have come out that doping can help you years after you dope.

So go by a teacher, hell pharmacist, anything but a runner.

ya..... wrote:

Simple, drug test her like everyone else. If you're dishing out the cash then you have every reason to require it.

No ti's not simple. It's VERY easy to pass drug tests. Only a moron gets busted in a test at a competition. And WADA shouldn't be wasting resources on out of competition tests for master runners. So basically she could dope with immunity, just get off of it for the competition and keep cleaning up as a master.

jjjjj wrote:

News to the OP: she won $10k, not "wins 10k." Don't confuse us posters who read titles and think it means what it says. Not sure if we can ban people who've served their time from racing or prize money, but it should at least be garnisheed and the prize money won from the doping period restored to the rightful winners.

Correct. I just changed the title of the thread. I saw it and was like, "What 10k was held in Boston."

The initial title was "drug cheat wins 10K at Boston"

Polly P wrote:

That's un-American. Please leave on the next boat.

Uh huh. You'd probably give Hitler a second chance too, you libtard.

Penal system wrote:

So you folks don't believe in giving someone a second chance?

She is free to qualify like a normal person and race. That invite spot should have gone to a clean runner. Do not invite dopers!

Buck Foston wrote:

No. She ran the Dallas Marathon and got third in December and there was a high profile article on her and the other drug cheat who did win Dallas.

not so fast. wrote:

She ran Dallas in December, a month after she won Auckland.

Sorry, guys, I obviously missed that one -- relying on Athlinks has its limitations.

Also, I had never heard of that Shitaye Ethiopian runner who served an EPO ban almost concurrent with Hunter-Galvan's. All sorts of bad puns to be had there.

In one of the articles in the San Antonio paper linked from here, the reporter notes that Hunter-Galvan doesn't like to talk about her drug suspension. That's understandable, but I'd also think that the modicum of negative publicity that comes with a previously suspended athlete grabbing a masters win at a major marathon would be well worth it, given the ten grand more than balancing this off. "Shut up and let me make some cash before I get too old!" isn't bound to make her any new fans.

Penal system wrote:

So you folks don't believe in giving someone a second chance?

Many fools don't. They believe they aremore pure than Mother Teresa. All runners must be sin-free, and clean enough, to "cast the first stone."

We are on the verge of the running equivalent of baseball's steroid era. But no one will care.

Congress will not hold hearings. This was all foreshadowed by East German doping.

Shorter is right still to feel robbed in Montreal.

Perhaps races could eliminate cash prizes. Pro runners could still get sponsored.

Trollus Maximus wrote:

Penal system wrote:

So you folks don't believe in giving someone a second chance?

She is free to qualify like a normal person and race. That invite spot should have gone to a clean runner. Do not invite dopers!

So they should invite some hobby jogger instead of someone with the potential to win her division?

fred wrote:

Come on, man, she thought it was an amino acid. Don't you drive to Mexico to buy amino acids.

No, but I did fly to Houston for an L-Carnatine injection, which by the way IS AN AMINO ACID.

rojo wrote:

No ti's not simple. It's VERY easy to pass drug tests. Only a moron gets busted in a test at a competition. And WADA shouldn't be wasting resources on out of competition tests for master runners. So basically she could dope with immunity, just get off of it for the competition and keep cleaning up as a master.

This is sad but true. Do you have any thoughts on how to combat doping among age group winners? Should we just give up? Unfortunately the money just isn't there for out of competition tests.