Lucy Kabuu banned for two years - best excuses ever?

I've always appreciated Dieter Baumann's explanation of his adverse finding.

That, and the explanation that frequent sex with multiple partners obviously affected T and the like.

Great to see strong athletes holding their ground, fighting off the haters!

:-)

Yet another in a very long list of Kenyan distance runners is busted and yet race organizers around the world keep on inviting Kenyan distance runners to races. While Ethiopia does not even have a reasonable testing system. I really don't think the sport cares at all about PED use, they may as well make it legal at this rate.

I love the 'bottle of lucozade was spiked by roommate while I was at church' one.

Not only tries to blame innocent roommate, but throws in that she's a Christian good girl at the same time.

Seems the IAAF were impressed by her spunk and ingenuity and only gave her the minimum length suspension.

Kiprop needs to learn from this. Is he sure Nick Willis didn't shake sweat coated hands with him in the days before his failed test? Maybe Tim let him try some of his famous potatoes, and Kiprop was aware of a strange taste in his mouth for days afterwards leading up to his test, so bad it was even preventing him from going to church (not that he had been to church since a schoolboy, but he intending to start going again)?

Reminds me of Radcliffe and her biological passport failing, "oh, I was the only athlete severely dehydrated in the field," or in Athens when she dropped out, "I took two Advil."

https://www.drmichaeljoyner.com/the-biological-passport-the-paula-radcliffe-controvery/

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2004/aug/26/thisweekssciencequestions3

I was in a FB conversation with her (along with Kenyans proclaiming her innocence because she is Kenyan)

She was banned for morphine. I pointed out excess codeine tablets could cause a false positive.

To be fair I don't think she is that intelligent as I don't think she got that this was a reasonable excuse. Another Kenyan actually said she had taken a pain killer and should just have got a TUES but she just started rambling on about God

I'm not sure morphine would actually enhance performance other than perhaps you could push through the pain?

It does not seem that straightforward but the authorities and half this board bought the BS excuse about meat contamination with your 800m runner.

If she was American she'd have walked or got a reduction like Gay

fan of dental hygiene wrote:

I've always appreciated Dieter Baumann's explanation of his adverse finding.

That, and the explanation that frequent sex with multiple partners obviously affected T and the like.

Yes, those, and:

- kissing a hooker/girlfriend/fiancee

- vanishing twin

- running through EPO-infested puddles

- altitude/dehydration/measurement error

Waiting for Subway to complete the list...

fan of dental hygiene wrote:

I've always appreciated Dieter Baumann's explanation of his adverse finding.

:-)

If he was a Brit that may have raised more eyebrows!

kckl wrote:

Reminds me of Radcliffe and her biological passport failing, "oh, I was the only athlete severely dehydrated in the field," or in Athens when she dropped out, "I took two Advil."

https://www.drmichaeljoyner.com/the-biological-passport-the-paula-radcliffe-controvery/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2004/aug/26/thisweekssciencequestions3

Actually doesnt remind me of Radcliffe at all since, uh, um, Radcliffe wasn't busted for DOPING!!

I haven't seen the morphine discussed too much yet. I agree - the only way I could see it being useful is that is dulls the pain you deal with when running at max effort. Like tramadol in cycling.

But that is complete speculation.. does anyone have any actual knowledge of morphine as a PED?

casual obsever wrote:

fan of dental hygiene wrote:

I've always appreciated Dieter Baumann's explanation of his adverse finding.

That, and the explanation that frequent sex with multiple partners obviously affected T and the like.

Yes, those, and:

- kissing a hooker/girlfriend/fiancee

- vanishing twin

- running through EPO-infested puddles

- altitude/dehydration/measurement error

Waiting for Subway to complete the list...

Here are some more funny doping excuses:

Morphine is also a vasodilator...which is why it's given to ppl with an MI...it supplies more oxygen to the heart.

I believe it also offers pulmonary benefits (however it can decrease respiration rate) but I don't remember the exact ins and outs ...but probably has to do with its vasodilator properties.

Not morphine, but once took narcotics for a cough (before that was considered bad). Tried doing surges and almost puked. Was sick for about 12 hours. It was a unique sort of pain and sick.

Was she praying she wouldn't get caught or praying for forgiveness or maybe that g_d would give her strength and better blood to run those races in his?her? name?

Is she also coyly intimating that they're all cheaters? Hmmm....

Whatever the reality may be it's either another case of christo-athletico hypocrisy or the lord him(her)self working it's magic in mysterious ways.

Tramadol is different, because it also inhibits norepinephrine and serotonin reuptake. So it's like morphine mixed with a stimulant (and therefore the better performance enhancing drug imo).

I still think that morphine could offer a small benefit, because you could push harder. Or at least it feels a lot easier to do so.. don't know it the maximum is actually raised, but I would guess so, because in my opinion the brain/mind is a part of that.

Regarding MI: I thought it is mainly used to ease the pain and prevent/alleviate panicking (which also reduces the oxygen consumption). Does it really provide physiological benefits?

ukathleticscoach wrote:

fan of dental hygiene wrote:

I've always appreciated Dieter Baumann's explanation of his adverse finding.

:-)

If he was a Brit that may have raised more eyebrows!

The opposite is true. Ultimately toothpaste Baumann was banned, and dehydration Radcliffe and doorbell Farah and kidney Froome got off scot-free.

Morphine can't help any performance, since there are multiple collateral effects, that affect any kind of activity.

I don't know why it's in the list of not allowed medicines : I think is in the list because very dangerous for the health, and one of the goal of antidoping is also to protect the health of the athletes.

Lucy Kabuu is 35 years old, and had a very long career, going in the final of 10000m in two Olympics (Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008). She was based in Japan, and was managed by Ricky Simms.

After a long period with tendon problems, she moved to marathon starting the preparation in the summer of 2011, and changed manager going to Gianni Demadonna. In that period I was her coach, and she impressed me for her quick improvement.

Her first marathon was in Dubai, and she was second in 2:19:34 (28 Jan 2012). She was still with me in training till London, when was 5th in 2:23:12 (22 Apr 2012), showing probems of full recovery after Dubai.

After that marathon, she was coached by Gabriele Nicola, at that time coach of Mary Keitany, till 2015.

Lucy had many problems in the following years : she divorced, and had several injuries, quitting running.

She changed management, going with Federico Rosa, and started running again in the summer of 2017.

Her last two marathons were the slowest of her career :

2:19:34 (2) Dubai 28 Jan 2012

2:23:12 (5) London 22 Apr 2012

2:22:41 (3) Chicago 2 Oct 2013

2:44:26 (24) Moscow 10 Aug 2013 (WCh)

2:24:16 (3) Tokyo 23 Feb 2014

2:20:21 (3) Dubai 23 Jan 2015

2:31:21 (6) Hong Kong 21 Jan 2018

2:27:02 (1) Milan 8 Apr 2018

It seems very clear that her doping was due to some mistake in some medicine, and not for the idea to improve her performance. I never heard of somebody using morphine for running faster.... but for running slower !

However, her excuses are ridiculous, since morphine is not a substance used in some supplement (like, for example, some steroid in small quantity, that we can find in medicines made in India/China/Pakistan, and clearly show that she doesn't know anything about medicines, and that the administration of that medicine was not administrated by persons involved in the management (somebody can really think that dr. Rosa can give morphine to an athlete who has to run a marathon ?)

So, a clear doping for ignorance, and I don't find correct she can considered a cheater, while is correct she has to be banned because using something against the rules, not because had some advantage, but because was not professional trying to understand the components of the pharma.

Not to say that she used it to enhance her performance, nor that professionals use it for that reason.

But why would morphine make someone slower? I respect your knowledge about running and appreciate that you share it with us Mr. Canova, but that statement is definitely wrong. Of course it is not a good idea to try it for obvious reasons and of course many people that try it get addicted, from which many would get slower because their training would suffer (with exceptions), but short term or one time opioid use would never make you slower.

For speculating about her case: I tend to think that it is as likely, that she took it by mistake, than on purpose as performance enhancing drug. But on the other hand, why then come up with such bullshit excuses? Ok maybe she thought this excuses are still better, than to admit that it could be her pain meds. I do not believe that she cannot guess, read on the internet or ask someone which of the few things she took three days before the race contains morphine.

Does anyone know the concentration of morphine they found in her urine?

Another athlete once coached by Renato tests positive. It's quite a long list.