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:
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.
Amazing post. So he told you in 2016 - 3 years before Kiprop was banned - that Kiprop was on EPO? Is that what you are saying. Wow. Please confirm.
I imagine he wasn't dirty the whole career. It's like living in some third wold country. If everyone else is paying bribes, you don't really advance if you don't as well.
I should clarify actually: I'm not sure if he *actually* saw Kiprop and other pros injecting EPO into their system but I think amongst pro's at the time, it was common knowledge that Kiprop was doping. That's how Zane made it out to be. Zane said he knew Kiprop was doping after seeing Kiprop train/workout.
He suspected a few others as well, but I only mentioned Kiprop in the post because he obviously tested positive back in 2019, so it would lead me to believe that the others Zane mentioned were also suspect/likely to be doping given his ties to Kenya and Ethiopia. I distinctly remember asking why he didn't report them/go to the media and he said that he couldn't or else he could get sued for libel.
I can't believe that one would spend 15 years in Kenya living a hard life then risk it all like this. Especially when you know your twin brother's credibility is tied to yours. They could have sailed into the sunset as legends and have cool stories for their kids and grandkids. What a waste.
I love the work that AIU is doing. It's increasingly stupid to dope in Kenya now and I love it. I hope this extends to Uganda and Ethiopia too.
It's not just about money. You have to understand that an elite athlete dedicates their life to sport so when their legacy is ruined it will take a mental toll even if they're rich. You lose your friends, reputation and all the hard work and sacrifices you made in your youth.
It sounds like, from the LRC article, he "may have been targeted for testing" and the case benefitted from info from Anti-Dopping Agency of Kenya, interesting. Could someone have turned on him?
It's sad because it seems like perhaps he got disillusioned from seeing a lot of top runners doping and just joined in. Hopefully he will talk.
Kiwi interloper gets busted doping and it’s Kenya’s and Kenyans faults.
Yeah bit strange. I don’t recall people making the Jama Aden drug bust about Spain. The excuse by Zane is insane and honestly kind of crazy that was his option as opposed to coming clean for 3 years and even maybe trying to help expose other dopers/middlemen in exchange for some leniency. Wonder if they asked him if he would. Obviously now nobody in Kenya will go near him/his brother.
This post was edited 46 seconds after it was posted.
I did it as I spent 10 years of my life supporting that school's running program. Just showing them some love. How is that elitism? I was at the state school of the ivies.
How is it showing them some love to establish their connection with a doper?
It sounds like, from the LRC article, he "may have been targeted for testing" and the case benefitted from info from Anti-Dopping Agency of Kenya, interesting. Could someone have turned on him?
It's sad because it seems like perhaps he got disillusioned from seeing a lot of top runners doping and just joined in. Hopefully he will talk.
Man, he could be the guy to drop the dime…really break down the doors of doping…destroy the omertà.
It sounds like, from the LRC article, he "may have been targeted for testing" and the case benefitted from info from Anti-Dopping Agency of Kenya, interesting. Could someone have turned on him?
It's sad because it seems like perhaps he got disillusioned from seeing a lot of top runners doping and just joined in. Hopefully he will talk.
What this actually means is that NZ's anti-doping agency had Kenya's anti-doping people test him, instead of flying someone from Auckland to Iten or whatever.
Common practice, as USADA testers will test foreign athletes training in Boulder, Flagstaff, etc at the behest of WADA or the athlete's home anti-doping agency.
As usual apologists on this website are trying to drive a narrative that it's not Zane Robertson's fault it's Kenya's fault that's he has been found to be a doper.An adult over 18 years old should be held responsible for his mistakes and his choices but because the accused looks like the ordinary lad next door he gets a free pass from the usual suspects on this website.
Zane Robertson, the multiple national record holder for New Zealand, has officially been busted for EPO.================================*Copyright Disclaimer...
Doping is common in EVERY professional sport. Why wouldn't you? If there are millions on the line and you know it's almost impossible to get caught....
“We were on the upper side of poor,” Zane Robertson said. “The bottom side of middle class.” The twins struggled to fit in at school, where they were frequent targets of not only their classmates but their teachers and deans as well. “The extreme part of the bullying, most of it, was from the teachers,” Robertson said. “We were different and even when we were 7 years old the teachers would tell the other boys not to hang out with us and then reward them with goody points for it.” The brothers began running at 14 and within three months both were national champions. “And we took flight from there,” Robertson said...... “In New Zealand, there’s this mentality to always put down anyone trying to be good,” Robertson said. “So no matter how successful you are they’re always going to put you down for trying to be good at something. Except rugby.”
What kind of adults pick on kids?
I still think there story is cool. We should have him on the podcast. It would be amazing if he'd name names.
Guy had great range - 3:53 in mile, 59:47 and 2:08.
Doesn’t the latest news make you the slightest bit hesitant to believe this sob story? And also to put an asterisk beside the marks in that “great range”? Makes me doubt everything from them both now. It’s very sad that this is one of the effects.
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
Incredibly weak argument. Think for longer than two seconds, if you break situations down instead of trusting your thoughts after two seconds you’ll learn a lot.
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