Tokyoracer is right on. The Japanese have a very unique culture....they would never cheat. Its not what they would do....that would bring great shame to them. They work very hard and are very sincere and diligent at what they do. This work ethic is highly valued by them. This is what keeps them going and why they never give up. Its completely cultural. I dont remember ever seeing any Japanese drug cheats. I might be wrong on that but there are very very few if any.
No way he would cheat - -he's be disgraced by his country and most likely banned as well.
No difference between Yuki running like he does and Doug Kurtis running sub 220 e/o week.
I think it is naive to think that no Japanese would ever dope. Here's one example, at least-
http://japanrunningnews.blogspot.com/2013/08/kaori-yoshidas-suspension-for-positive.html
So I wouldn't say the fact that he is Japanese automatically means that Kawauchi would never dope.
In his case, however, I don't see any evidence or basis to accuse him of doping. He is not freakishly fast or doing anything that can't be explained naturally. He has no association with dopers, no reason to think he has access to PEDs, and no financial motivation to dope. He runs so often that he has to be subject to regular in-competition testing and can't disappear somewhere to go through a doping cycle - on top of whatever out-of-competition testing Japan does. And his times are not unnaturally fast - he runs at roughly the level of the other top or not-quite-top Japanese marathoners. Kawauchi just seems to be remarkably durable and able to push himself so as to get the most out of his abilities.
Josh Hamilton's Addiction wrote:
prove it or shut up wrote:little or no awareness of the sport.
Little or no awareness of the sport. Bro, I think it's you who has little or no awareness of reality. 99.9% of elite athletes are dirty. And before anyone jumps on here and says Yuki isn't elite, think again; 2:08 is still an elite marathon time. And running two sub-2:10s in 14 days is an elite achievement. Unfortunately, the latter is an elite achievement only achievable through PED use. I know it hurts to think about your favorite athletes being dirty, but it's part of the game.
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Naïvety or stupidity Im not sure which but you answer's and knowledge show that maybe its both. If your convinced and can prove it I will up the offer from $1000 to $2500 if you can prove he has taken PED's.
You have zero basis for your assumption he had to take something to achieve his world class double.
As far as the rest of the elites , now you confirm your stupidity stating that 99.9% of elites use PED's. Are they in the sport of distance racing , yes. At a stretch maybe 2%.
Tokyoracer wrote:
Well, that is such a ridiculous thing to say, that I don't know where to begin. I suppose I should just say, don't make malicious accusations unless you actually know the person you are talking about. And their culture, for that matter.
Come to Japan, spend some time here, in fact, spend some time with Kawauchi. Doping by runners is just not part of the culture - it's not part of their mindset, they don't know much (anything) about it, and even if they did, would never consider doing it. Especially Kawauchi, who is just a young, naive, innocent, decent, hard-working guy. Don't scoff - it's true.
You shouldn't layer your own biases/experiences on top of people/cultures you know nothing about. I'm sorry, but you're just way off base here. I know you want to stick to your own beliefs (people believe what they want to believe) and attitudes, but you're going to have to trust me on this one. If you don't trust me, as I said, come to Japan and absorb the running culture. Just as very few Japanese cross the street when the pedestrian light is red, EVEN IF there are no cars in sight, no Japanese runners would consider taking drugs, even if they knew anything about them, which they don't.
"Gaman" - perseverance - is the Japanese runners' ideal - this is literally what they live by - they live to sacrifice themselves to their running - by running, not by cheating. It's true, believe me, it's true.
I totally agree with this quote. I also believe all those who go to Kenya to "train" for their upcoming race (ex. Hall, Radcliffe, etc.) are most-likely dopers, too, along with the entire Salazar camp, and anyone an Italian "coach" has blessed with their training wisdom.
I don't know whether he is cheating or not. I think probably he is not because as a civil servant, out of the big team loop, I doubt he could access those drugs in Japan.
On the other hand let's not perpetuate stereo-types about Japan. The whole hard working/never cheat image is a myth. As a long time resident...they spend a lot of time at work but are not particularly hard working. And yes they are relatively honest, but as a university professor I see them cheat often. They are not so different from us, let's not idealize their culture.
I have no idea if he is doping or not.
That being said, the notion that individuals cannot obtain access to drugs without being in a big team loop is ridiculous. If he has the internet, he can find a PED distributor.
Agreed, that the "athletes from Japan are clean because they are from Japan" is not sufficient. There are cheaters in every corner of the globe.
I don't know anything about Japanese running but it is outstanding that they live to sacrifice themselves to their running and not by cheating. Did you know that a lot of runners from East Africa has that kind of drive and belief too? It is so bias to see you clearly say that those going to Kenya to train are probably dopers. I see them as hard-working runners chasing their dreams and no one knows the truth. I will just say "hunt for the good".
KiprunningTexas wrote:
I don't know anything about Japanese running but it is outstanding that they live to sacrifice themselves to their running and not by cheating. Did you know that a lot of runners from East Africa has that kind of drive and belief too? It is so bias to see you clearly say that those going to Kenya to train are probably dopers. I see them as hard-working runners chasing their dreams and no one knows the truth. I will just say "hunt for the good".
One can always claim a culture is exceptionally tough, like that of the Japanese. But you better have something to back it up. For example, Japan has been a major medal winner in Olympics and many international sporting competitions for as long as these competitions are. However, they have the lowest rate (and it's very very low) of athletes been busted for doping among all the nations. Take a look at Kenya. You don't see the similarity.
And the Kenyan Athletic Association has yet to comply with the measure that the WADA requested this past summer. Even the so much hated Chinese took a much quicker response to WADA request when several of their athletes tested positive.
Nope, he just figured out he was hypothyroid.
Here we go again. Kenyans are cheaters that's why they've been dominating running since the 1960s. I honestly think this is due to race. I mean, the blacks were supposed to only dominate the sprints but these blasted East Africans had to come and ruin things. Must be maddening it took East African imports (Mo and Lagat) for the UK and the USA to win gold at the Olympics and Worlds.
El Keniano wrote:
Here we go again. Kenyans are cheaters that's why they've been dominating running since the 1960s. I honestly think this is due to race. I mean, the blacks were supposed to only dominate the sprints but these blasted East Africans had to come and ruin things. Must be maddening it took East African imports (Mo and Lagat) for the UK and the USA to win gold at the Olympics and Worlds.
Can't you read?
Or do you just want to put racist label on people?
Look at the record (not WR, the doping record)!
Moron!!
real imaginary wrote:
Look at the record (not WR, the doping record)!
Moron!!
How many does Kenya have? Isn't it something like 25? That's not particularly high given the thousands of runners that have competed abroad for them.
India, on the other hand, has a high number of doping infractions given the number of athletes that are competing.