The article was initially entiteld, "Zane Robertston!!!!" but we changed it to make it more descriptive. Here is our article on his bust and fake excuses (he said he went to a hospital for a COvid-19 vaccine but they gave him EPO instead) which points out that in 2016 he expressed frutation at the amount of doping in the sport:
This is the reason for my initial reply. Even if something happens that you think is big news, post a goddamn link. OP, you are a moron. Nothing in this sport has been big news since Usain Bolt. Please refrain from posting in such a manner in the future.
Damn, I'm really shocked by this to be honest. I remember watching the FloTrack Driven series on the Robertson's back in like 2014 and started following both of them on social media. I thought it was so cool that they picked up their lives and moved to Kenya when they were 17. I got to meet Zane back in 2016 at a road race in New York City and he came across as a very humble, and genuine guy despite what people on here will say. After the race, he was kind enough to invite me on his cool down and we talked for miles. For a 17 year old who was just starting to run decent times, it was such a cool experience to be able to pick the brain of a runner who competed against the best in the world.
Funny enough, we actually talked about doping when I ran with him and he had mentioned that while living in Kenya, he had seen many pro's including Asbel Kiprop, use EPO. He swore that he never used it and I'd like to believe that he was clean when I met him. It seems like in the last few years, he has dealt with some injuries which have taken a toll on him. He was with Adidas for a bit, got dropped, then signed with Asics and then got dropped at the beginning of 2022 I think.
I don't think that he was dirty for his entire career but I think it was likely that he was using EPO to get back to where he once was in order to secure a shoe contract again.
This is the reason for my initial reply. Even if something happens that you think is big news, post a goddamn link. OP, you are a moron. Nothing in this sport has been big news since Usain Bolt. Please refrain from posting in such a manner in the future.
I am ROLLING at how much pandemonium this is causing. Oh wow, a white guy is finally bad! Dozens of Africans popped this year and people are coming out in DROVES now that a white guy goes down. Pitiful.
Excellent summary. It’s clear to me that Robertson was negatively influenced by the doping culture in The Great PED Valley. This would have never happened if the twins stayed in New Zealand. Sad.
I am ROLLING at how much pandemonium this is causing. Oh wow, a white guy is finally bad! Dozens of Africans popped this year and people are coming out in DROVES now that a white guy goes down. Pitiful.
Probably because people here actually know who Zane is. “Dozens of Africans” and you don’t list a single name lol
Dude - really? Morals? The whole concept of morality relies on how societal accountability of "right" and "wrong" behavior - you think living in Kenya in a culture of doping in distance running creates any accountability between right and wrong?
And do you honestly think this guy even cares? He had his moments. Stood on podiums, broke records and cashed checks. He has the same mindset as all dopers - that everyone else is so it's not immoral in any way - that's the mental gymnastic. Therefore, as I said, absolutely nothing to lose.
This is the key. They are all doing it so of course it’s much easier to rationalize.
It’s funny that just saying that is enough to be smeared as a doping apologist here. The only acceptable response to PED use on letsrun seems to be seething, righteous fury. Anything short of that will get you shouted down.
It's very sad news, but honestly it's a bit of a relied to finally have one that's this definitive. Positive for EPO, so no claiming it didn't have a performance benefit. His excuse was not only proven wrong, but proven to be fabricated, so no claiming he didn't know what he was doing. And by dropping the appeal for both offenses, he's in some sense admitted to them.
Maybe he'll eventually shed light on what he knows about doping culture, given that he doesn't appear to have much else to lose.
The Kiwi star, who had expressed his frustration with the amount of doping in the sport in 2016, was banned for 8 years after testing positive for EPO and "providing false documentation in his defence."
Zane Robertson, Kiwi Marathon and Half Marathon Record Holder, Popped for EPO
by Robert Johnson March 21, 2023
Zane Robertson, the New Zealand record holder in the half marathon (59:47) and marathon (2:08:19) and former record holder in the 10,000 (27:33.67), has been suspended by The Sport Tribunal of New Zealand from competition for 8 years after testing positive for Erythropoietin (EPO) and "providing false documentation in his defence."
Robertson, who along with his twin brother Jake famously moved to Kenya in 2007 at the age of 17 to try to become one of the world's best distance runners, had retired in February at the age of 33 but didn't mention anything about a pending drug bust. Zane tested positive at the UK’s Great Manchester Run in May 2022.
After his B sample came back positive, Zane Robertson didn't try to argue that EPO wasn't in his system. Instead, he said he went to a Kenyan medical facility to get a Covid vaccination but instead was given EPO, and he provided documentation to back up his point, but investigators determined the documentation provided was false.
In addition to it making no sense medically why someone would be given EPO when they came in for a vaccine, a Vice President of the "medical facility Mr Robertson claimed to have attended" provided a statement saying "Mr Robertson was not administered EPO at the facility, that he had not attended the facility on the alleged date, that of the two doctors he claimed had treated him, one was a laboratory technician and the other was not employed at the facility, that the medical notes were not generated at the facility and the patient number on the notes was not Mr Robertson’s."
The Sports Tribunal of New Zealand's decision.(also embedded at the bottom of this document)
Additionally, Drug Free Sport New Zealand (DFSNZ) issued its own press release , but in reading it, appears that Robertson may have been targeted for testing.
“This case benefitted hugely from the sharing of key information and the invaluable support of the Athletics Integrity Unit and Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya. Our global partnerships allow us to collaborate across the anti-doping landscape to detect and deter doping and hold dopers to account, wherever they may be," said Drug Free Sport New Zealand Chief Executive Nick Paterson.
The press release was unusual in that it contained a lengthy statement from Athletics NZ Chief Pete Pfitzinger, the two time US Olympic marathoner (and Cornell grad), about how the organization was trying to make sure that Robertson's mental health was being taken care of.
"As an organisation we take athlete welfare very seriously, so we understand the anxiety and stress that Zane will be experiencing. As soon as he received notification of the positive test for EPO last year, we offered and have provided extensive wellbeing support alongside High Performance Sport New Zealand and we will continue to provide support during this challenging time. We appreciate DFSNZ’s consideration of the athlete’s wellbeing throughout this process,” said Pfitzinger.
It's worth noting that prior to the 2016 Olympics where Zane Robertson was 12th in the 10,000, Zane, who had relocated to Ethiopia, expressed his frustration as to the amount of doping in the sport and specifically the situation that was going on in Kenya.
"It's disturbing that I can see these things unfolding before my eyes yet those athletes continue to race on," . Robertson also competed in the 2020 Olympics in the marathon where he was 36th.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CoMbl5SI4_h/NZ twin Zane Robertson posted on IG yesterday that he is retiring:"Sometimes I post here sometimes I don’t. The last 3 years haven’t been great for me on and off the track...
I have said it before the majority of Kenyans are doping I would go as far as 80 percent. EPO is readily available and easy to purchase as well as all the other stuff. I don’t know Ethiopia but I am sure it’s the same or worse there. We can bury our head in the sand and marvel at the performances every weekend but it is a lie and race oraganizers should finally stop inviting them.
This is the reason for my initial reply. Even if something happens that you think is big news, post a goddamn link. OP, you are a moron. Nothing in this sport has been big news since Usain Bolt. Please refrain from posting in such a manner in the future.
Are you just upset because everyone laughed about me calling you petal, petal?
Wasn't he the one who want to Kenya to train? Must have started his regiment in Kenya and got caught. The Kenyans must not have showed him the secret to use EPO without getting caught so easy.
