The only thing I am going to point out about all the doping accusations these past few weeks especially is that no one is going to "protect" Kiptum or Tigst if they are.
So unless it's some new fanged thing out there that can't be detected and there's not enough biological passport to compare, they are going to be busted within a year.
I remember distinctly around Rio 2016 everyone was so absolutely positive Almaz Ayana was doping and she is still around eight years later.
What has she done since 2016? Raced about twice a year?
Gold and Silver at the WC on the track, 1:05:30 HM (faster than your 10k PB), 2:17:20 Marathon, lot of injury problems.
Not in Ethiopia. Testing is about twice a year there.
Ahead of Oregon, Ethiopia in fact had the highest per-athlete testing in the entire world. About 8 no-notice, out of competitions tests per athlete in the 10 months before the event. Additionally, Ethiopians compete in more high-profile international events than most because of cost pressures and their federations emphasis on running fast times (no national trials).
Man, this thread was a big disappointment. I was really interested in learning about Kiptum's coaching situation or lack thereof, benefits of training alone vs. in a group, and just more about his day-to-day training if anyone knows it. Instead, we're at 9 pages and counting of doping accusations interspersed with excellent (imo) rebuttals like Rojo's post here.
Armstronglivs has 21 posts on this thread, most of which have the same thesis (Kiptum and pretty much all Kenyans are doping) and argue from pretty much the same angle. It's not that the posts are terrible on their own--although I don't agree with all of the reasoning. It's that the conversation gets sucked down into yet more doping arguments even though they aren't really relevant to Kiptum's coaching situation.
According to Kevin in a chat with me just after his Valencia win he is self coached and a normal training week looks like this; Tuesdays a track interval workout, Thursdays and Sundays a long run , Saturdays tempo/ Fartlek workout . The other days just easy runs......very simple program and now he is the Goat. 🧙♂️🇸🇪🖐
The benefits of training alone is that the runner always can run his/ her exact best training pace and learn the paces needed to excellent individual performance.
I have always felt strongly that athletes should train mostly by themselves. In a group, the underdeveloped runners try to keep up with the more developed ones which upsets the optimal load; workouts often turn into races; there are often ego clashes and conflicts, etc.
Not in Ethiopia. Testing is about twice a year there.
Ahead of Oregon, Ethiopia in fact had the highest per-athlete testing in the entire world. About 8 no-notice, out of competitions tests per athlete in the 10 months before the event. Additionally, Ethiopians compete in more high-profile international events than most because of cost pressures and their federations emphasis on running fast times (no national trials).
Then perhaps you can tell us how many times Ayana has been tested in Ethiopia since 2016? You don't also find it strange that an athlete at their peak has only competed 10 or so times in the last 7 years? Injury may account for some of that time but not all of it. Shades of Makhloufi.
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First of all, what poor staging for a press conference. Do better, Valencia. Especially given you have arguably the most spectacular backdrop for a marathon finish anywhere in the world.
Second, I know this is LR and accusations are already flying left and right, but let's talk about this for second: Kiptum said he trains alone in Chepkorio (outside of Eldoret about 15K from Kaptagat) and, when asked, emphatically yelled into the mic that "I have no coach!". Assuming (for arguments sake) you lot are correct about this performance being too good to be true. How is someone so young (Kelvin is only 23) able to run such a staggering time that more experienced runners with better technical backing, coaching and (allegedly) PEDs, aren't?
Doped or not, what does this say about the depth of raw talent in the Rift Valley? Is anyone else's mind blown? And what could he accomplish with proper guidance from a Renato Canova or a Patrick Sang?
First of all, what poor staging for a press conference. Do better, Valencia. Especially given you have arguably the most spectacular backdrop for a marathon finish anywhere in the world.
Second, I know this is LR and accusations are already flying left and right, but let's talk about this for second: Kiptum said he trains alone in Chepkorio (outside of Eldoret about 15K from Kaptagat) and, when asked, emphatically yelled into the mic that "I have no coach!". Assuming (for arguments sake) you lot are correct about this performance being too good to be true. How is someone so young (Kelvin is only 23) able to run such a staggering time that more experienced runners with better technical backing, coaching and (allegedly) PEDs, aren't?
Doped or not, what does this say about the depth of raw talent in the Rift Valley? Is anyone else's mind blown? And what could he accomplish with proper guidance from a Renato Canova or a Patrick Sang?
Find and put good links, is using a *** search engine so hard for many?
Possibly a much better translation than Google Translate or something you use is here ("Russia Posts English" is a very suspicious, unprofessional but maybe well informed sometimes? network of sites in general though - but we have validation in this TV5Monde article, and it's also on France24, that the article is by AFP - so professional French primary source at least):
Kelvin Kiptum will not be slowed or curtailed in intense training, his coach Gervais Hakizimana says, even though it might shorten the career of the new men's marathon world record-holder.
Anyway it looks like Kiptum had been training sometimes alongside other locals with Hakizimana (who was then moving between (Rwanda) France and Kenya) since already 2013. And from 2019-2020 they stepped up their "cooperation". However "Gervais Hakizimana has never signed a contract with Kiptum" so that is possibly why Kiptum did claim from the beginning that he is self-coached. It's also possible that French story is biased (French activity of Hakizimana) and in fact at least a bit made by Kiptum now (for Chicago) to show the world that he has a coach.
Kelvin Kiptum will not be slowed or curtailed in intense training, his coach Gervais Hakizimana says, even though it might shorten the career of the new men's marathon world record-holder.
What has she done since 2016? Raced about twice a year?
Gold and Silver at the WC on the track, 1:05:30 HM (faster than your 10k PB), 2:17:20 Marathon, lot of injury problems.
Why do you bother responding to a buffoon? I don't want to insult one-trick ponies. They are miles above his intellectual level.
Ayana returned from injury late in 2017 to win the 10,000 world championship then got badly outkicked by Obiri during the final lap of the 5000. She did hang on for silver.
Subsequently she had more serious injuries and it was discovered that her stride was badly uneven, with one leg extending much further than the other. All of this was mentioned here. She attempted a comeback but was woeful at Prefontaine. That result shelved matters.
Ayana is deeply religious. She started emphasizing family on Facebook. A pregnancy followed. Anyone who followed her on Facebook could sense immediately that running was no longer a priority. Every photo was a glowing tribute to her son and husband.
Ayana quietly hinted at a comeback late in 2021 by showing a photo of herself on the track in workout gear. That drew raves and hope from her Facebook followers. She tried to make the Ethiopian 10,000 team for Eugene and ran decently, but failed.
Her marathon debut was months later in Amsterdam. She was very encouraged by that victory over Dibaba. It led to high expectations in London. But that result was obviously a shock and jolt of reality, especially given how her former rival Hassan won that race. Ayana has been completely silent subsequently and in fact deleted a few running related posts.
All of this is from memory. Now it will be followed by a wave of posts from the doping dunce and his unintentional Sergeant Shultz impersonation.
In the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport , Hakizimana says that Kiptum runs consecutive weeks of 280 km, with some of 300km. Before London in april he ran 3 consecutive weeks of 300+
He also says that he’s warning him not to exaggerate or he will be soon injured. But Kiptum is not listening him about this topic.
In the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport , Hakizimana says that Kiptum runs consecutive weeks of 280 km, with some of 300km.
It's not an "Italian article" - almost everything is a copy of a copy now.
The original source is French Press Agency AFP (Agence France-Presse) 99%. barrons.com / news/kiptum-s-coach-fears-intense-training-will-shorten-record-career-a94d00b1 - and it spread worldwide (citing AFP).
Don't read you local losers news in a globalized world.
Thanks for putting me in my place with a link to an article stating the exact same thing.
In a globalized world many things are just copied.
When source is not trustworthy or strongly biased (as most African newspapers and some Asian too, also some European and American) we don't know what is true and what is not and who was the original author. This Pakistani Express Tribune is possibly the best media from this country however in general quality of Asian and African media is rather very low.
