KENYA DOPING SITUATION: THE GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO BE SERIOUS.

Well nothing is gonna get done any time soon until the IAAF steps in and dolls out some punishment or much more frequent testing. Because if you think of it, the only sport that Kenya (and Ethiopia) make much profit off of (as well as any notoriety) is from track and field.

Anyone who thinks that a corrupt government is going to do anything about Kenyan runners illegally enhancing their abilities to bring in more revenue should be thrown in a mental ward.

If it makes you feel any better, here in the USA our politicians loot public funds for their benefit as well. Further, our sprinters are the same version as your distance runners. Same song, second verse.

NativeSon wrote:

Of course other countries will be happy no doubt.

No. I think most people would like to see Kenya get the grips on their doping problem.

NativeSon wrote:

We read somewhere that there are athletes, and especially road runners (Kenyans) who will dope, run as many races as they can and make money. Their prayer is that should they be caught, they'll have made their money. It's all a cost/benefit analysis. Make hundreds of thousands of dollars, get caught, get banned and get out of the scene (with a load of cash).

This is a very valid point. Many people are born into what we in the west would consider to be abject poverty. For them a few hundred thousand dollars represents untold riches. When you look at the risk reward analysis you would almost have to be an idiot not to cheat.

In the west we have the same problem with white collar crime. Embezzle millions of dollars a year from businesses, customers and the government and you can live a life of luxury for years. If you get caught you spend a few years in a minimum security prison and then get out and retire on the money you have squirreled away in the Cayman Islands.

In both cases the reward is great and the risk of getting caught and punished is minimal. Hopefully that is changing regarding doping in Kenya. But white collar crime is still very profitable in the west.

Very true. It's a risk/return trade off and that business analogy fits perfectly.

Most of the second tier runners who have no hope of ever making the Kenyan team will do it in a heart beat. Dope for five years, run lots of races in the meantime and mint serious cash, get caught, get banned, after four years, (may be) try and come back........... make whatever little you can make, then retire.

The rewards are more than the risks.

NativeSon wrote:

Finally, I HOPE THIS YOUNG MAN IS BANNED FOR LIFE!

I JUST DON'T CARE!

Not harsh enough, NativeSon. I say PRISON! As well as holding enablers (including coaches and management) culpable. It's the only way. The damage they're doing to the country's image and Rudisha's, Kipchoge's or Vivian Cheruiyot's legacies is a crime.

I'm also hoping Kenya, after cleaning house, borrows a leaf from Ethiopia's book and starts really vetting who's allowed into the country. We're too welcoming. There's quite a few foreign elements I'd love to see kicked out. And yes, these views may appear 'unKenyan' but our hospitality is a big part of what has gotten us into this mess. Also, why is it so easy for foreigners to come into Kenya when I have to jump through all sorts of hoops just to travel in their countries? It is fact they're the ones who introduced PEDs into the country. There are plenty of Kenyan athletes who still, to this day, don't use supplements.

Also, those like Ruth Jebet and Violah Jepchumba who compete for Bahrain, Qatar and Turkey, should be urged to move to their new countries because it's not the Middle Eastern countries' images that suffer when they fail tests.

El Keniano wrote:

Not harsh enough, NativeSon. I say PRISON! As well as holding enablers (including coaches and management) culpable. It's the only way.

+1

Kiprop said that too!

casual obsever wrote:

El Keniano wrote:

Not harsh enough, NativeSon. I say PRISON! As well as holding enablers (including coaches and management) culpable. It's the only way.

+1

Kiprop said that too!

Sounded quite convincing too.

When people talk about prison for dopers, it's a sure sign that they simply want their country to look tough on cheats but not actually make any real effort to catch them.

Everyone knows that it's not really a workable solution. The story about Haile talking to a young Ethiopian who got busted and was crying cause he was now facing jail made me sick, he's quite simply a nasty piece of work behind the all the charisma and smiles.

Very true El Keniano.

Just today, one of our newspapers, I think it is the The Star, has information that Fred Matiang'i has deported roughly sixteen foreigners who've been deported. Ostensibly, they marry our girls to acquire citizenship or legal stay but in reality, they are dealing in drugs. They are mostly Nigerians.

Also, the number of Ethiopians who get arrested every now adn then crammed in the back of tracks coming into our stay or destined to South Africa (when it was great) is alarming.

Now, I can't imagine Kenyans crossing into Ethiopia.

We have opened our borders and as a result, we've suffered. All the bombings that have occurred have come from Somalia.

We've given them (illegally of course) ID cards and citizenship and what we get is bombing and more bombing.

With regard to athletics, it is the same thing. Ethiopia controls all the people who come into contact with their athletes and this includes agents.

We can and should do the same.

Finally, I ado agree with you wholeheartedly that jail time should be the punishment and nothing less.

They have dragged the reputation of our country and our stellar athletes through the morass of this doping nonsense.

We should not allow a few greedy fellows to tarnish our name. Never!

The ball is in the government's court. I am not holding my breath about it.

trollism wrote:

Everyone knows that it's not really a workable solution. The story about Haile talking to a young Ethiopian who got busted and was crying cause he was now facing jail made me sick, he's quite simply a nasty piece of work behind the all the charisma and smiles.

So Haile's empathy towards a young man facing jail time in Ethiopia (I guess not the best conditions there) makes him a nasty piece of work?

You are a nasty piece of turd behind all your trolling and vitriol.

gghhuu wrote:

trollism wrote:

Everyone knows that it's not really a workable solution. The story about Haile talking to a young Ethiopian who got busted and was crying cause he was now facing jail made me sick, he's quite simply a nasty piece of work behind the all the charisma and smiles.

So Haile's empathy towards a young man facing jail time in Ethiopia (I guess not the best conditions there) makes him a nasty piece of work?

You are a nasty piece of turd behind all your trolling and vitriol.

There was no empathy from Haile. The whole thing was 'I'm sorry you're so sad, but you've been a naughty boy and you deserve this'.

Coming from a guy who doped his whole career. The guy is a politician now, that kid was sent to prison to make it look like they were coming down hard on anti-doping. All the while, the actual Ethiopian team were and still undoubtedly are doping away with government approval.

trollism wrote:

Coming from a guy who doped his whole career.

Why don't you volunteer your personal data to Haile, together with this post of yours?

It would be fun to see the likes of you, m!ndweak and Coevett getting sued for your baseless accusations.

gghhuu wrote:

trollism wrote:

Coming from a guy who doped his whole career.

Why don't you volunteer your personal data to Haile, together with this post of yours?

It would be fun to see the likes of you, m!ndweak and Coevett getting sued for your baseless accusations.

Haile was part of a group that dropped records by ridiculous amounts, all at a time when EPO first became readily available and most of those times were set when there was no test and then no reliable test for the stuff (coupled with the fact that it's taken this long for any sort of testing to come to Kenya, and they haven't even got near Ethiopia yet). Oh, and the introduction of Renato and friends from Italy when cycling got a bit dodgy.

Those times + that era + that area of the world = doping. There is no other explanation.

You can pretend all you want sweetie, but that era was as dirty for distance running as the East German/Russian (and everywhere else really) steroid fueled 80s.

You really couldn't make this up. I'm a racist for correctly claiming that there was a MASSIVE doping culture in Kenya, yet the Kenyans here, after finally having to accept the truth, claim it's all a whitey conspiracy and that not just whites, but other Africans (especially drug dealing Nigerians and those damned good for nothing Ethiopians) should be kicked out of the country and borders closed.

And the last sentence - 'destined to South Africa (when it was great)' I mean, it's obviously true, but here is a Kenyan admitting that South Africa was 'great' when it was ruled by white people? I don't think El K will agree with you there, even if he probably hates black South Africans as much as he hates white people and Nigerians. El K wants all white people in Africa exterminated.

Sweetie? LOL

Dude, I am not saying you are not right, OK?

I am just saying that the generalization going on by the likes of you m!ndvett and Coeweak are harmful.

That's all.

Coevett wrote:

El K wants all white people in Africa exterminated.

Your lies and hatred have no place here.

You are a sick person. You need help.

Saying East Africa has a doping problem isn't a generalisation. They have a massive doping problem.

That doesn't mean I think every single athlete dopes, but let's be honest, most of the best times in recent years have been achieved through cheating. It's more crazy to believe the opposite, if you really think about it.