Fagan comes clean on his positive EPO test

Drug Cheat as a term is completely useless if you’re interested in discussing the actual issues surrounding the use of PEDs in sport from a political and societal level. We have an odd mix of moral righteousness and wilful ignorance about the use of drugs in sport. The only people who get money, who get sponsored, who get interviewed who get respect are those who win. Money in sport makes the sole focus on winning and setting new records. By treating the use of drugs in sport as a individual moral failing on the part of the athlete is not really addressing the broader issues surrounding the atmosphere which allows drugs to be a part of the picture. Again, I am not asking anyone to go up to Fagan, hug him and say it’s not your fault. It is his fault but if you leave it at that, if you’re only going to blame the athlete and forget the system which produces this kind of insane drive towards winning while ignoring other aspects of the sport you are part of the problem. Besides, if it is simply a case of bad apples there seem to be just as many bad apples as there are good ones. If you look at the past heroes of the sport how many of them are suspected of using now? A ton, Virén and the Flying Finns, Carl Lewis, Flo Jo almost every professional cyclist... if this is a case of bad apples alone than track & field along with a lot of other sports seem to be filled with the most rotten people around.

The entire minutia about how one can beat the tests, whether he was microdosing, how others were vilified more so than he is a distraction to the pervasive issue of doping in sport and we are merely engaging in elaborate subterfuge if we ignore it. This is bigger than one Irish runner who was incredibly obvious about taking EPO.

Usually use a different name. wrote:

I think they handle drug cheats the way they should be handled, and the way they bash drug cheats is good for the sport.

No, by accusing and bashing, they are not handling it well.

First of all, they are hysterically claiming that drug users are BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE. They are faster, have more endurance, recover faster, sleep better, live longer, are better coaches, set unapproachable records, have better sex, and can pee uphill in the wind, all of which is totally ridiculous.

The message, that the brojos convey, is that if you want any of these things then YOU'D BETTER BE TAKING DRUGS, because it's the only way you will reach them.

I disagree and feel their arguments are inane.

I feel that anyone can take a realistic look at the history of drug use, all the way back to Pasteur and beyond, and see that:

#1- Drugs do NOT make anyone any better than they'd be without them. They don't make any superwomen or men, and they don't make anyone any faster than they'd otherwise be.

#2- Drugs hurt people, destroy their lives, and continue to result in premature deaths.

#3- Any beneficial performance is simply a mental construct, like the Brojos have, nothing else. It is time to let go of that bad mentality.

It's like if you hit your toe with a hammer than say oh you run the mile faster after you hit your toe with a hammer. Well you didn't run any faster, and pretty soon you have no more toes.

worried wrote:

i dont believe he really came clean, he had no choice. Hadnt the money to fight his case maybe and knew london was over. I think it was a pr stunt of a story, took 1 month to formulate and doesnt give us all the details we want. How was he poor. Like what did he go through. He had a car, head to toe in tatoos and was signed up for bupa run series.

I dont beleive he was caught the day after injecting. And am pissed off with everyone supporting him. He is another reason why our sport is dying and depression is no excuse. Yes he needs help and yes i fell sorry for him. BUT I dont want him ever near a track again and i want him to tell the truth about it. I want him to give up all his medals.

The other thing is that I think I recall Fagan driving a 1990s 3 series BMW in flagstaff on his Facebook page, but I could be mistaken. Even though that's a nice car, it's an older model so it doesn't mean he's exactly making good dough.

Yes it's possible as a PR stunt...you know, it's probably the best thing he could do in response so that people around Ireland especially don't get so pissed at him but actually feel sorry. I'm hoping he regains his competitive edge and a love for running again, even if he never runs professionally anymore. Running Is a great gift and exercise is great combat for depression - better than drugs.

Hematocrit below 40 is good, but with steady training can increasd to approximately 50-54 is possible for some athletes, but should be tested.

Cut through the BS wrote:

This could be the perfect excuse really in an effort to get sympathy. Maybe not. Weldon people on here may know more. Here is what I saw take from it what you will.

While in Flagstaff passing through the Center For High Altitude Training I was briefly shown blood test hematocrit results for an athlete in Mcmillan's group. Athletes in his group then were getting stipend help from the CHAT and offered free blood work or health care from the university there.

The hematocrit for the athlete was 51. It was an athlete who had made a race breakthrough at that time. Not sure what a hematocrit # of 51 means if anything.

You are right to ask the questions others won't ask. We will never get to the bottom of this if we don't ask.

What is hematocrit supposed to be in an elite healthy non-cheating athlete?

Why are you making the claim that drugs cannot augment performance? What science are you basing these opinions on?

Because science and history both demonstrate that your claims are erroneous. Yes, PEDs DO kill people, they CAN cause organ damage and chronic disease.However, they also improve performance. Why would increasing one's blood count using EPO NOT improve performance? Science aside, isn't it common sense? Why would increasing one's testosterone levels, a hormone essential for muscle building and recovery, not improve athletic performance, especially explosiveness?

Hematocrit over 50 is basically unnatural and points to doping. Hematocrit that high is very, very rare naturally. 50 is the set limit in cycling, if you go over you aren't allowed to race.

A 1990s 3 series isn't expensive at all, maybe $5-12k depending on the year and specifics.

In response to Vinny Mulvey.

Here is what he said about Cathal Lombard after the National Cross Country

Shunned

Others were not so reticent, as third-placed Vinny Mulvey (Raheny), the 2006 winner, pointedly ignored him on the podium.

"I've respect for every other athlete but not him," Mulvey stated unapologetically. "My view is (if) you get done for drugs you should get done for life; you shouldn't be able to make a comeback. There's people who'll say 'ah, water under the bridge' but it's my view you can't trust someone like that."

So you will not be hoping Martin makes a come back? What if Martin runs the National Cross in two years? Will you shake his hand?

Will you trust Martin Fagan? How can you possibly trust that he only took epo once? There is no way he only took it once. What about Fagan's missed tests? Looks like he was targeted for a long time.

You are a total hypocrite Vinny. You treated Cathal in a totally different way.

Funny, Fagan dopes and you attack Mulvey. Red herring?

Relief to fore as athlete admits his race is run

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/0116/1224310310398.html?fb_ref=.TxRJ97Kjf9Q.like&fb_source=profile_oneline

What does it matter anyway? Renato says EPO's don't help athletes at this level.

heythere.. wrote:

What does it matter anyway? Renato says EPO's don't help athletes at this level.

God save us. Yes, right. Maybe there is some other drugs better than EPO that help athletes at this level.

There is a reason why I don't joy a running club. I don't want to be associated with some "fast" runners. I run cross country unattached.

Exercise is such good combat for depression that I can't believe a psychiatrist would prescribe SSRIs to an elite athlete because I don't think it would be of much benefit to someone exercising that much.

You would think if someone were an elite athlete they'd love their life, but I guess it goes to show that elite athletes deal with depression and are just as crazy sometimes as the rest of us (except for taking PEDs of course).

Fagan's two-year ban confirmed

To whoever replied to me there.

Let me again categorically state that I feel the same way about drugs in sport now as I always have. I believe that a life time ban is what should be given and that includes Martin Fagan. Martin knows this. I have never said otherwise. I always said Cathal deserved a lifetime ban and I think that's what all drug cheats deserve. It would make others think again about cheating and is only fair to clean athletes. Also i think a 2 year ban sets a bad precedent for younger athletes who might think cheating I worth the risk.

On a human level I am helping Martin get help for depression and suicidal tendencies. I think he needs help in that respect but I have no sympathies for his decision to take epo. I hope that clears things up.

Do you trust his story? Do you think he would of admitted if he passed the test? Why did it take 1 month to come out with the story why didnt he tell the press before the result was positive? I understand supporting a friend but would you shake his hand if he beats you in the cross country in 2 years time?

This is getting beyond ridiculous. Now even his coach is saying that its ok to cheat:

Fagan's coach Keith Kelly said that the athlete was trying to "get back to nuetral" after a rash of debilitating injuries, which he claimed had caused him to feel depressed.

"If it wasn't Martin and it was someone I didn't know, I would be [angry] too," he said in an interview on Newstalk's Off The Ball.

"But the frustration soon disappeared and I just felt concerned for my friend.

"It began to make sense to me.

"It wasn't about a performance-enhancing, he was trying to get back to neutral."

The Lone Wolf wrote:

Hematocrit over 50 is basically unnatural and points to doping. Hematocrit that high is very, very rare naturally. 50 is the set limit in cycling, if you go over you aren't allowed to race.

Cyclists are 55 and higher come race time. They are 50 when they get tested that morning.