typical speculation on Letsrun wrote:
With Salazar gone, USA distance running will suffer.
You don't have to like him or agree with anything he's done to recognize this.
Now, the best place for promising American track and field runners to go is the Bowerman Track Club, a group who rarely talks to the media, has a reclusive coach, a stable of talented runners who are perennially injured, and amazing talents who only race once or twice a year.
At least with the NOP we had the opportunity to watch great runners race and train.
I think this will end up being a negative for American running, regardless of where you stand on the ethical side of the line.
And then consider how little we know about Kenyan and Ethiopian alleged doping and how the enforcement is almost non-existent.
Yes, but it will also be much cleaner. T&F was considered great in my country when we had doped to the gills athletes winning medals. Is that the right way to compete in T&F? Since multiple doping cases, the sport has become cleaner but our athletes are not even close to compete on international level anymore.
All of NOP runners took something. It's impossible to be in connection with Salazar and all the meds and PEDs he has used and stored. Athletes get them offered, he says "it's fine, impossible to get caught, will be out of your body in few hours" or "it's just thyroid meds and L-carnitine, they can't test for thyroids and it's not illegal". Athletes take them, because they want to get faster and win. Hell, even hobby athletes do doping and don't even gain something for it - these elites don't just gain fame, status, wins, but also big money due to the wins and sponsor contracts. And since Salazar promised them it's safe, they think - why not!
Salazar was great at playing the doping agencies for fools. Himself, Dr Brown, and the entire Nike medical team were always 10 steps ahead of the doping agencies. They knew how to manipulate, and how to "outplay" the system.
And the defense of athletes? Come on, how many caught dopers openly admit it?? Everyone acts like a Kiprop, claiming innocence, never took something, always rejected Salazars offers, etc.. IF a coach is highly related with doping, chances are high that he is also using something on his athletes and not just on his own kid and low-talented runners as test subjects.