Running Conspiracy theories - Share the wildest story you've heard here

Salvitore…well done. That’s well thought out. So the conspiracy part is they didn’t want to admit the timing issues, so they just gave him the WR?

Yes exactly but the twist is that no matter what - HT or ET, he did break 3.27.37 - that is not in doubt.

I think it's very similar to the Flo-Jo situation in that I don't believe there was any premeditated notion of just gifting them both WR's, but the way things played out, hands were forced and what else could they do? The other link is that you have timing companies - Seiko and Omega, not wanting egg on their faces because their product may have messed up historic moments.

With Flo-Jo this time flashes up and so does a wind reading of zero. Everybody knows there is a substantial tailwind but someone has to make a call almost on the spot because every minute that goes by it gets harder to undo. Like somebody literally had to go over to that gauge and blow in it or something and show it wasn't working. So in the end the USATF and IAAF are probably like "well this is good for the sport anyway heading into Seoul, the record will get broken soon anyway etc etc etc" - 35 years on and we still have the record.

With this Rome situation he absolutely has broken the record and the backup hand timing would have shown this. But you have a stadium announcer telling the crowd he's done it, his team is running all over the track celebrating so they know it, the commentators are announcing it and what's next? Everyone is waiting for the official electronic time. But what if there isn't one? So you have the meet organizational team who know he's broken the record but are on the clock to give a result - you have to do something. You just give a 3.26.0 hand time as 3.26.00 - close enough right? He will break the record sometime in the next 2-3 years (same as Flo-Jo) - except 27 on and here we are.

Fortunately he ran 3.26.12 in 01 which we know is a legit ET so it's not that bad, but what if this all is actually true and Jakob runs say, 3.26.08 or something like that this year? Now that would be crazy.

Saudi space lasers control the results of all track and field events. Freak injuries? Unexplained fatigue? Slight shifts in weather conditions? What can't be controlled with unimaginably, precise laser technology? And why would the Saudis use their technology specifically for track and field? Two words: oil prices. If people were allowed to have appropriate faith in their God given locomotion abilities, then we wouldn't be stuck behind false mental limits and we'd be running faster, further, more effeciently then cars. Therefore, rendering oil worthless.

Jama Aden / Qatar had Torrence murdered and made it look like an accident.

Gatlin was set up.

The whole Gatlin saga is one of the wildest doping stories in track and field. It's got everything—sabotage claims, backstabbing, shifting blame, violent retaliation, and even a supposed April Fool's joke that turned eerily prophetic.

So shortly after Gatlin tested positive in 2006 the story of 'trainer sabotage' first came to light via Trevor Graham. Gatlin's coach accused masseur, Chris Whetstine, of sabotaging the sprinter's career because he was holding a grudge against the Olympic 100m champion. According to Graham, Whetstine came running over all nervous after a race, grabs Gatlin, rubs something on him, and pops a 'little bottle with a crooked S' (LMAO) written on it into his pocket before skedaddling away. Now Whetstine wasn't some unknown- he'd spent ten years supporting Team USA and supporting stars like Diddy (pause) during the good 'ol LiveStrong days when the who's who of Hollywood was obsessed with jogging 3:45 marathons.

Nike team member and coach Salazar heard his fellow coach Graham say that and was like, 'Umm definitely not- that's crazy for Gatlin and team to try to pass the blame onto Chris'.

Still didn't stop Llewellyn Starks, another Nike employee, from tracking down and beating Whetstine senseless later that year following USAs. (Whetstine and Nike settled out of court). The former LJer turned agent Starks, by the way, is -or was- most known for the leg snap heard round the world. Definitely not linking it here.

Fast forward 13 years and to a whole new Nike doping scandal involving the aforementioned Salazar front and center and guess what Salazar said? He blamed the whole 'tested steroids on my son' situation on.....CHRIS WHETSTINE. Yup, the former trainer who Salazar previously said could have never done such a thing.

Salazar said the following, in reference to using the nike lab to test steroid half-life:
'On May 9, 2009, Galen Rupp’s University of Oregon 4×1 mile relay team set a new NCAA record. Shortly after the race while talking to the press, Galen felt someone rubbing his shoulders. He turned around and it was Chris Whetstine. Galen had heard the stories. He was extremely concerned and called me. I called the USADA hotline to report it. USADA may still have the tapes or notes of my call. Nothing came of it but it caused us grave concern.’
There's far more craziness to the story, such as Gatlin's father grabbing his gun and stating he was going to go k*ll Trevor Graham after a story emerged of a Gatlin positive drug test (it was an April Fool's joke printed on a website). Two years later the joke became reality.

We know how this ends, of course. Graham was implicated by many, including Victor Conte. He was handed a lifetime ban. 8 of his athletes tested positive. Some ended up in prison. In a stunning turn of events, Graham was also revealed to be the insider who sent a sample of the clear to USADA in 2003, jump-starting one of the biggest sport's scandals ever. But today Graham claims his innocence and often tweets about the 'big conspiracy' he will reveal about Gatlin's forged test, and how another top American coach abuses prescription use (any guesses who that might be?).

BTW, while Graham is dirty as heck, Gatlin legit might be innocent (or ignorant). Many, including investigator Jeff Novitsky have echoed as much. Then there is Randall Evans, an assistant coach who, according to Whetstine, reportedly purchased Testosterone in Mexico and then transported it back to the States (his wife was in the FBI, thus it was entirely legal for him to do so, he reportedly told Whetstine). Sometime later, Evans gave Gatlin what he told him were B12 vitamin shots for his injured hamstrings.

Takeways?

The Whetstine Scapegoating is Ridiculous
It’s crazy that Whetstine was initially dismissed as an innocent trainer, only to later be blamed for Salazar’s own doping experiments. The fact that he ended up getting physically assaulted and then quietly settling out of court with Nike only adds to the shadiness. Given how many different scandals Nike has been involved in over the years, it’s fair to ask whether Whetstine was just in the wrong place at the wrong time—or if he was being used as a fall guy to cover for much bigger figures.

Trevor Graham’s Role is Wildly Contradictory
The guy was both the architect of a massive doping program and the whistleblower who brought down BALCO. He was clearly deep in the game, but it’s still wild that he’s maintained his innocence all these years and claims to have proof of a bigger conspiracy. Given his history, it’s hard to take him at face value—but at the same time, he’s been right before. If he’s telling the truth about Gatlin’s test being forged, that would be one of the biggest bombshells in track history.

Gatlin Might Have Been Clueless
His first ban was from prescribed ADD medication. The second, if Whetstine’s account is true, came from injections that he might not have realized were testosterone. If you assume Evans really was bringing testosterone from Mexico under FBI cover and injecting Gatlin under the pretense of "B12," then Gatlin would have had no reason to question it. That doesn’t make him completely innocent, but it does open the door for plausible deniability.

Nike’s Role is Incredibly Suspect
Starks assaulting Whetstine and Nike quietly settling makes it seem like they wanted to make the whole thing disappear. Then there’s Salazar, who publicly dismissed Gatlin’s "sabotage" claims, only to later accuse Whetstine of tampering with his own athletes. That kind of hypocrisy makes you wonder how much of the doping operation was actively covered up by Nike and its affiliates.

Salazar’s Fall is Well-Deserved
The fact that he was testing steroids in the Nike lab (and allegedly on his own son) tells you everything you need to know. He spent years cultivating an image as a clean coach while running a shady operation behind the scenes. His involvement in the Oregon Project and the doping allegations surrounding it show that this was a long-term, systematic approach rather than a few isolated incidents.

Who’s the "Top American Coach" Graham Keeps Hinting At?
It’s hard to say definitively, but given Graham’s history of throwing names out there, the most likely suspect is probably someone tied to Nike or the Oregon Project. That narrows the list down quite a bit, and Salazar is the obvious candidate. But if Graham is hinting at an active coach, it could be someone from the next generation of Oregon Project-affiliated coaches. There aren’t many high-profile American coaches with enough influence to be worth targeting, so it’ll be interesting to see if Graham ever actually reveals what he claims to know. Then again, Graham isn't necessarily a truthful human, so this is likely all nonsense.

And this is why I still visit these boards.

Weren’t Torrence’s own parents vocal about his death being foul play?

U20 athletes from Kenyan and other east African countries are actually not under 20

From the way back Time Machine… back in 1985, a week before her appearance at the Millrose Games, Mary Decker Slaney was mugged in Eugene while out on a training run. There were rumors that she had faked or lied about the attack to win back some of the popularity/sympathy she had lost after her fall in the 1984 Olympics. There were at least one or two articles in which journalists implied doubt about some aspects of her story, including why she didn’t immediately report the incident to the police, so it wasn’t just casual gossip.

This has crossed my mind, but I would wonder how they kept everybody quiet?

So part 2 of the conspiracy can be, everybody else in the elite men's field tested positive for EPO and BAA told them either let Meb win or we'll out you and you'll get suspended.

That's too elaborate to be plausible, but Meb's winning is also just not that plausible. It's a head scratcher

What about Shannon Osika completely disappearing from Pete Julian's group and everything with no announcement of retirement?

that the reason runners got faster after 2021 is because coaches and athletes discovered the internet that year.

This thread is supposed to be about wild conspiracies

El G did not willingly retire, as the IAAF had evidence he was doping and forced it upon him while he was in full training.

Bekele served a silent ban, and was not allowed to win on the track again, ie. Mo/Galen 1-2 in London. It's well known the Ethiopians were on "the soup" (EPO)

ROJO WILL 1000000% DELETE THIS POST. HE HATES WHEN PEOPLE BRING THIS UP.

That being said this is the #1 conspiracy I believe in. An American wins the year after the bombing when Chebet was in some of the best form of his life. Ryan Hall has a hand in this too. He led the pack and made sure they were slowing when needed.

Heard it secondhand so it may not be fully accurate, but that some ncaa scratches are for failed drug tests instead of injuries.