I know there in nothing I can say that's going to shut up the naysayers and I’m not going to try mainly because I don't have the time or energy and it won’t work anyway. I have written and spoken quite a bit about this topic and my purpose for continuing to jump in on it is for no other reason than I can’t resist the urge defend what I believe is right. Also, I personally know what it takes to success at anything and I hate seeing someone’s achievements discounted based on a lack of knowledge and/or lies.
I probably know more about NOP, Rupp and AlSal 'of toady' than Fam and Virgin and I don't know much. There are at least 2 dozen people, coaches, athletes, trainers and doctors who know far more than me Fam and Virgin combined and so far, no one has said anything to closely implicate Rupp of doping and without an NDA, that's nearly impossible in this day and age. Some of the people mentioned, Magness and the Gouchers know a lot more than any of us, and at most, they have implied and/or in so many words stated that AlSal in 'their opinion' has used the system to his advantage and perhaps they disagreed with his methods...that's all they know and that's all you are ever going get out of them because that's all there is. If there was more, a smoking gun per se, you would know by now. This is not like the U.S. Postal Cycling Team where people are being threatened to keep to keep their mouths shut. This is not meant to demean anyone, but I know the Gouchers perhaps justifiably so were or still are pissed at AlSal and perhaps justifiably, Magness is trying to make a name for himself. Undoubtedly, from both of those camps there will be drips and drabs of information that come out over time and possibly even a book one day, but all that is going to be said will simply expand on what has already been implied and/or in so many words stated. Btw, I will add that there are other people just as close to the heart of the matter as Magness and the Gouchers who have a different opinion. You can choose whichever opinion you want to lean towards, but they are the people that know. Btw, Rupp’s and AlSal’s home address, training venues, training methods, assistance coaches, trainers and doctors, etc., are well known among the people who need to know. An investigation would be quite easy; NOP is not nearly as mysterious as people think.
I will avoid a science discussion and simply state that having athletes take blood and breathing tests, finding deficiencies and using the approved process to prescribe medication...that's what AlSal has done...there is nothing mysterious in that. AlSal has not done anything that anyone else can't do and has not done anything that some of the other elite training groups don’t do. A few little known facts, only a couple of NOP athletes have ever been prescribed medicine; some of the ones who were did not benefit from it; Rupp’s has competed successfully without his medication and only uses it on an as needed basis; AlSal has gone out of his way to deal directly with USADA/WADA specifically on this issue to ensure compliance. As an elite athlete, personally I would enjoy knowing that a coach is doing everything possible ‘that’s legal’ and with my health in mind to help me achieve my goals.
Galen Rupp's breathing problems go back as far as his youth soccer days...this problem was not something invented to have him take medication to help him run faster. Using laymen's terms, the effects of breathing medication is a complicated discussion and I admit there is some gray area especially when you get into what, when, the dosage and who needs it. If you want take a deep dive on the subject, search on Steve Magness and read through some of his posts to get a student level understanding, doused with a bit of his opinions. Myself, I have listened to talks given by top level PhD types, USOC officials, etc., the people who wrote the books that Magness reads. Some of these are individuals who have absolutely no dog in the AlSal/Rupp discussion. The condensed layperson explanation is, in general breathing medication has little to no athletic performance benefit for a person without a breathing problem and for someone with a breathing problem, the benefit mainly lie in getting them to normal. In some cases, it actually has a negative affect and in the few cases where it has shown some degree of performance enhancing benefits, it is a poor choice for doping. Even when you go outside of the approved process, the type of medication, the dosage, when it has to be administered makes it unhealthy, unreliable and most important, detectable. (There are much better ways to dope.) The fact is, there is nothing in Rupp’s performances or post-race workouts that suggest anything except he is a talented athlete and is fit. In my mind, Rupp has not had one single off the chart performance. In his greatest race, he finished second; in fact, Rupp loses about 50% of races. If he is doping, he needs to get better at it. And some of the crap that has been stated like visits to an EPO specialist, taking a shot of adrenaline before a race, giving drugs to Mary Cain, etc., is so crazy that will not even get into it.
I am not trying to portray Fam and Virgin as bad guys, they have heard bits and pieces of information about NOP through the grapevine and they have some knowledge and personal experience with doping issues from their own careers and basically surmise Rupp must be doping. Obviously Virgin is no stranger to doping from his days at AW and the era he competed in and Fam has had his own issues with being prescribed breathing medication. No disrespect, but they both know just enough to be dangerous, but they really don’t know anything for a fact except U.S. athletes are having performances better than they ever dreamed of and are slowly making their careers less relevant. Although you can’t take anything away from what an athlete accomplished in their area, but Fam and Virgin no longer appear on any of the U.S. performance lists and Adam’s name will probably will disappear in a year or 2….that has to suck.