Epic fail: Abeba aregawi tested positive for doping

Then if there are clean athletes and clean administrators out there then they should be agitating for more stringent measures. The fact that the athletes agree to continue racing against the likes of Gatlin is an indictment on clean athletes and USATF and IAAF

coach d wrote:

I withdrew totally from having anything to do with distance after NCAA's last year, which is why I'm on Down Goes the Dow more now. Given how Russia, Kenya, and Ethiopia dominate the medal counts in 800 and up and what we know about doping in those areas, I don't see how you can take distance seriously at all. Anybody.

And where have most of those marathon majors winners come from?

I can't argue with you too much

all I can tell you is that I feel able to root for a dozen or so distance runners. I think they are clean.

I watch the last hour of most marathon majors but am losing interest there and don't really believe they are clean. It's often a good show and it is nice to see the cityscapes of London, Paris etc.. so I watch some.

I don't think 100% of medalists are dirty - I really don't. I'd accept 25% or a 33%. But 100% just doesn't seem possible.

I think the penalties in T&F (and cycling) are reasonable. 2 years, then 4 years, right?

If this was a sport that generated real revenue, it'd be more like 4 games, or a warning. See, MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA, FIFA, etc.

Go look at the 2004 TdF results for an even funner example of trying to figure out who really won clean. In the top 10, I think only Sastre at #8 wasn't eventually busted or admitted doping.

Keep in mind this is just 6 years after the huge Festina scandal. To think things are cleaner now is laughable.

Try 25-33% of Olympic qualifiers, 60-70% of finalists, 80-90% of medalists.

agip wrote:

[

I don't think 100% of medalists are dirty - I really don't. I'd accept 25% or a 33%. But 100% just doesn't seem possible.

coach d wrote:

I withdrew totally from having anything to do with distance after NCAA's last year, which is why I'm on Down Goes the Dow more now. Given how Russia, Kenya, and Ethiopia dominate the medal counts in 800 and up and what we know about doping in those areas, I don't see how you can take distance seriously at all. Anybody.

And where have most of those marathon majors winners come from?

Why focus on distance.

There are far more sprinters doping. Many more are still competing even after having busted. : Gatlin, Merritt et al

Joplas wrote:Then if there are clean athletes and clean administrators out there then they should be agitating for more stringent measures. The fact that the athletes agree to continue racing against the likes of Gatlin is an indictment on clean athletes and USATF and IAAF

How can you expect the USATF to take this stuff seriously when Nike sponsors Gatlin and the USATF can't get enough of Nike's money? Not to mention the USATF picking convicted dopers to coach US relays.

Cheaters need to stop looking at being caught cheating as a speedbump versus a career ending event and an event that will cost them more than they can win by cheating.

How much has Aregawi made compared to what being suspended might cost her? From a financial standpoint, doping is probably worth it to unethical people. Rita Jeptoo presumably still has all of the winnings she got while doping. Shobukhova apparently still has whatever she didn't pay in bribes. If you are a dishonest person the consequences of being caught are not serious enough to be a deterrent.

...says the unregistered poster making unsubstantiated claims

Jon Lemmon wrote:

Try 25-33% of Olympic qualifiers, 60-70% of finalists, 80-90% of medalists.

agip wrote:

[

I don't think 100% of medalists are dirty - I really don't. I'd accept 25% or a 33%. But 100% just doesn't seem possible.

Please... Don't compare Merritt and Gatlin... it's two completely different types of « doping »!

ExtenZe vs designer steroids... come on!

Inadequate deterrence wrote:

If you are a dishonest person the consequences of being caught are not serious enough to be a deterrent.

And if you are caught it's justified by saying "well, everyone else was doping I was just unlucky in being caught".

And you get to keep the pile of cash.

agip wrote:

...says the unregistered poster making unsubstantiated claims

Jon Lemmon wrote:

Try 25-33% of Olympic qualifiers, 60-70% of finalists, 80-90% of medalists.

My smell test has been quite reliable for some time. Those people who have run insane times or have won a championship in dominant fashion, all the while finishing across the line like they are completing a controlled repetition in a workout, have always smelled bad to me. Turns out they either end up getting busted later, or run for countries which are shown to have a PED problem, or work with coaches and/or agents loaded with other athletes who are getting busted.

Contrast that to the athletes of other countries which have really doping protocols and serious testing, and yet don't come up with any real number of doping cases in the upper elite levels, and who's runners finish races actually completely spent.

strong nose wrote:

agip wrote:

...says the unregistered poster making unsubstantiated claims

My smell test has been quite reliable for some time. Those people who have run insane times or have won a championship in dominant fashion, all the while finishing across the line like they are completing a controlled repetition in a workout, have always smelled bad to me. Turns out they either end up getting busted later, or run for countries which are shown to have a PED problem, or work with coaches and/or agents loaded with other athletes who are getting busted.

Contrast that to the athletes of other countries which have really doping protocols and serious testing, and yet don't come up with any real number of doping cases in the upper elite levels, and who's runners finish races actually completely spent.

ok name us some names of suspect athletes

Is this the first major Meldonium bust? Has anyone else been caught with it?

Sounds like it was added to the "monitoring list" for 2015 and was just freshly prohibited (

So she will likely keep her 2013 Gold?

poro wrote:

Swedish anti-doping agency was informed by IAAF about two weeks ago. Meldonium has been banned from the beginning of 2016 (it was included in the monitoring program in 2015).

Glad some people are mentioning the substance she tested positive for. I'm surprised that is not included under the front page article title, as that is extremely relevant.

Does anyone have a good understanding of the mechanism of this drug and its performance enhancing effect? Its on label use is for angina/MI (not FDA approved) and its benefit in athletes is being noted as some sort of metabolic effect due to carnitine transport inhibition.

yourmom.com wrote:

Is this the first major Meldonium bust? Has anyone else been caught with it?

Sounds like it was added to the "monitoring list" for 2015 and was just freshly prohibited (

A Russian cyclist was already busted last month.

And 2 Ukranian biathletes have already tested positive for Meldonium-

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/062af7b9a5f34171b574caec7421811e/ukrainian-biathlete-abramova-suspended-doping-case

http://fasterskier.com/blog/article/second-ukrainian-biathlete-tyshchenko-is-positive-for-mildronate/

How does Meldonium affect an athlete's performance? Apparently, it's popular in Russia and other eastern countries. Hmm...

Whilst I agree, I dont understand this whole taking medals away from someone from 2013 when she failed a doping test in 2016. We dont know for sure she was doping when she won that medal.

ChumpRunner wrote:

How does Meldonium affect an athlete's performance? Apparently, it's popular in Russia and other eastern countries. Hmm...

I came across this fantastic thing called Google and it's got all sorts of fantastic stuff on it if you take the trouble to search, such as:

"Meanwhile, Wada has added an anti-ischemic drug to its list of banned substances. Meldonium, also known as mildronate, was included in the updated list because of “evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance.”

Developed in Latvia, meldonium has been used to treat ischemia, or lack of blood flow. Meldonium had previously been on Wada’s list of drugs to be monitored."