It's been two weeks since we learned Eliud Kipchoge's training partner was popped for testosterone. Has anyone in the Kenya media even bothered to asked about this? I haven't seen a single statement from Kipchoge or his camp about this. Don't the fans deserve to hear something?
I raise this issue and others in this week's WTW.
Thoughts on Marius Kipserem’s drug bust / Silence from Eliud Kipchoge’s camp about his training partner’s bust
Two-time Rotterdam Marathon winner (2016/2019) and 2018 Abu Dhabi winner Marius Kipserem — who has a personal best 2:04:04 — was banned last week for three years for EPO usage. The normal drug ban is four years but it was reduced to three as he admitted his guilt.
Admitting guilt is good as it reduces expenses for the AIU/WADA as they don’t have to pay to prove the findings in a lengthy appeal. But Jonathan Gault made a great observation on the Friday 15 Supporters Club Podcast last week. One’s ban should only be reduced if they admit guilt and then tell the authorities where and how they got the drugs.
The point of the anti-doping movement isn’t really to catch drug cheats — it’s to eliminate doping from sport (yes, it’s an impossible goal to achieve) and we aren’t going to really dampen doping in the sport unless we learn how the athletes are doping. Kipserem was the fifth Kenyan banned by the AIU in the span of a week. Where are they all getting these drugs from? Let’s hope Kipserem shares what he knows.
One more thing on Kipserem. As noted by The Times‘ Matt Lawton, Kipserem was the third pacemaker from the INEOS 1:59 Challenge to be suspended for an anti-doping rules violation. By Jonathan Gault’s count, Kipserema is actually the fourth, joining Justus Kimutai (whereabouts), Alex Korio (whereabouts), and Philemon Kacheran (testosterone).
It’s an interesting stat and one I drew attention to on the messageboard (MB: 3rd Kipchoge pacer popped for drugs- 2016/2019 Rotterdam champ – Marius Kipserem (2:04:04 pb) confesses to EPO usage) as the more attention that can be brought to the doping and specifically doping in Kenya, the better, but in the case of Kipserem, his connection to Kipchoge is extremely tenuous. Most of the pacemakers for the 1:59 Challenge — including Kipserem — were not part of Kipchoge’s training group. If a pacemaker for the Monaco 1500 tested positive, would you think that meant anything about the race winner being clean or dirty? If Matthew Centrowitz or Stewart McSweyn tested positive, would that make you to think Kipchoge was also doping? Well, they were both pacers for the 1:59 Challenge.
All these suspensions really are actually an indictment on Nike, not Kipchoge. There were 41 pacers in Vienna. What did they all have in common? They were all sponsored by Nike. For almost 10% of them to have subsequently been suspended is a very bad look.
One of the names on that list does concern me, however. Philemon Kacheran was part of the Global Sports Communication training camp in Kaptagat — that’s where Kipchoge trains — and the 1:59 Challenge website listed Kacheran as “one of the strongest training partners of Kipchoge.” The fact that Kacheran accepted a three-year ban for testosterone and no one on his camp has said a word about it (Kipchoge’s agent Valentijn Trouw and Global Sports head Jos Hermens did not respond to requests for comment from LetsRun) is alarming. The fans deserve more.
