middledistance wrote:
There is only 1 other 3:43 runner, and he was someone who ran 3:43 and broke the 1000m record (probably one of the best in the books) at the age of 20, despite not having broken 1:44 for 800m.
He is then dropped by his national team from the 2001 World Champs at very short notice, and retires (due to the effects of a car crash) at the age of 22 in 2002; just as EPO testing cpmes into effect!
In addition I have been told rumours about a major cover up at the 2000 Olympics.
Of course, nothing there sounds suspicious at all, does it?
I would be very surprised if anyone runs a legitimate 3:43 for at least the next 10 years.
That's a true story. A very well known, I'll say official, told me that story when he arrived back from the Games. And you can Ngeny's name. He was let off to keep a scandal from brewing, and to "protect" poor deprived Kenya, it being such a poor country and all. Boo hoo. There are lots of poor, third world countries, but certain countries and groups are favored for some reasons I don't know, and others I will not get into on this site. However, Kenyans, Ethiopians, Cubans for example, are routinely let off after being caught apparently - and lots of guys on the circuit know this and they'll tell you so in private. Other people, such as most Arab countries, most European countries, the Japanese for example, will get the axe if caught. This site is not the area to discuss the politics as they extend far beyond sports.
Ngeny was told to stay clean. He did, and he couldn't hang with the top runners anymore. So along came the car crash story.