Topic: Doping In Sport..

[Zeb]

This one's moved slowly over the past few years.

Alberto Salazar - Mo Farah's former athletics coach - has been banned from the sport for four years after being found guilty of doping violations.

Salazar, 61, runs the Nike Oregon Project - home to four-time Olympic champion Farah from 2011 until 2017.

The decision follows a four-year investigation by the US Anti Doping Agency (Usada) and a two-year court battle behind closed doors.

The investigation began after a BBC Panorama programme in 2015.

The programme, a joint investigation with the US website ProPublica, revealed allegations of doping and unethical practices at the US training base in Beaverton, Oregon.

The UK sports governing body UK Athletics conducted its own review into the claims, and gave Briton Farah - also a six-time world champion - the green light to continue working with American Salazar.

Dr Geoffrey Brown, a Nike-paid endocrinologist who treated many of Salazar's athletes, has also been banned for four years.

The BBC can now reveal that doping charges against Salazar, who was born in Cuba, and Dr Brown were brought by Usada in March 2017. The pair contested the charges, supported by Nike-paid lawyers, and the case went to the American Arbitrators Association. It is expected Usada will make a statement shortly.

Farah announced he was leaving Salazar in October 2017 but denied his decision was to do with the doping claims.

And the old and curious case of lapsed memories and missed tests.

Firstly, Salazar and his Nike-Oregon Project are under investigation in the States, having initially been shown up in a Panorama documentary thanks to the whistle-blowing of former coach Steve Magness. Secondly, Aden was arrested in 2016 in Spain following a lengthy investigation and 24-hour surveillance resulting in a police raid that found EPO in six rooms of his and his team's hotel along with anabolic steroids and 60 syringes. Thirdly, when later asked if he knew Aden, Farah denied it. And fourthly this was during a period where he missed two doping tests - the second of which saw testers ring his doorbell for an hour only for him to fail to answer and his excuse was that he slept through it all.

This is all a matter of record and, rather than a means of accusing Farah, it has left him with repeated chances to answer and explain what happened. Tick tock. Tick tock.

It was also during this period – in 2012 - that Farah and Paula Radcliffe were reported to be training together in the remote Kenyan village of Iten in the Rift Valley. It was from here that she came back with a biological passport off-score that nearly got her banned. He, however, did the 5,000m and 10,000m double at his home Olympics. Although never a zero, how many predicted this hero?

That marked the beginning of Farah becoming unbeatable at championships. But think about about the various elements. As an example, in 2013 he broke the European 1,500m record which started drawing unwanted glares. That's because Farah hadn't shown the capacity to be really good at that distance, never mind better than all the greats like Coe, Cram, Ovett and others. If that, along with Aden and Salazar, raised unanswered questions though, so did what followed.

(from 2018, Irish Independent's Ewan MacKenna.)

[BER]

Has Sir Mo said anything yet? Should probably check notes with Paula Radcliffe before he does.

[BoRed]

Has Sir Mo said anything yet? Should probably check notes with Paula Radcliffe before he does.

Thought this was brilliant by Barney Ronay:

Sebastian Coe’s stance on Salazar displays a very British hypocrisy

Barney Ronay

The response of the IAAF president and the athletics commentariat to the doping ban of Alberto Salazar, Mo Farah’s former coach, is little short of nauseating

Say what you like about British hypocrisy. It’s still the best hypocrisy in the world. This is a robust hypocrisy, sustained by centuries-old structures and conventions. British hypocrisy speaks confidently. It wears a well-cut suit. It peers down the rims of its half-moon glasses as it gives you a cold, deathly half-handshake and looks towards the door. Above all British hypocrisy doesn’t have to explain itself – and let’s be absolutely clear on this point – to the likes of you.

At which point, enter Sebastian Coe, Alberto Salazar, Mo Farah and the nauseating obfuscation of the BBC-platformed British athletics commentariat. Mainly, though, enter Coe, who as president of the IAAF operates under an unconditional duty of care to protect the reputation, legacy and probity of his sport.

It was presumably in this capacity Coe suggested this week that athletes who had won medals under the coaching of Salazar at the Nike-sponsored training campus in Oregon should “not be tarnished” by the fact Salazar himself has now been banned from the sport for a string of doping violations at the Nike-sponsored training campus in Oregon. These athletes should not be tarnished because none of them have actually failed a drugs test.

It is the kind of statement you find yourself staring at, trying to find its edges. It is easy to see why Coe might be confused. We have a murder, but no body. A doping has happened. And yet no athlete has been doped. The obvious conclusion is that Salazar must be a very inaccurate doper.

There are of course cynics out there who will suggest there is something odd about a then-Nike-employed IAAF president (38 years, resigned in 2015) offering his disinterested thoughts on the doping violations of a Nike-funded coach at a Nike-run campus. That what Coe is really saying is that the achievements and future prospects of Sebastian Coe should not be “tarnished” by a scandal that is, you suspect, only now kicking into gear.

But it can’t be just that. British hypocrisy is a powerful, resilient substance. But it’s not that good.

Or is it? Consider Neil Black, UK Athletics’ performance director, who announced in August 2017 that he had confronted Salazar like a man stalking a cougar in the wild, had looked him in the eye and from that one look knew instantly there was nothing awry and that Salazar would definitely not end up being banned for doping violations. Black will clearly have to resign. If only out of embarrassment.

Or will he? Consider for a moment the celebrity cheerleaders of the BBC punditry studios. “Everybody knew that there was cheating going on and people getting away with it. It was seriously affecting the credibility of the sport.” The uncompromising words, there, of Paula Radcliffe. But not this week. That was Paula Radcliffe, zero-tolerance author of Paula: My Story So Far, in a chapter called “Taking on the cheats”.

That version of Radcliffe, a kind of anti-doping Che Guevara, has apparently been decommissioned. It has been replaced by the version that appeared this week on the BBC to offer up an interview of vomit-inducing faux piety during which she saw, in Salazar, a coach who was guilty of no more than “overstepping the line”, of wanting to win – sigh – too much, whose doping violations were, you know, kind of OK.

“Have real anti-doping rules been transgressed by athletes? I don’t think so. Otherwise we would have seen athletes banned at this point,” Radcliffe announced, the same Radcliffe who wrote in her own book that “Everybody knows the tests are not guaranteed to expose the cheats.” Which one is it! This is confusing!

Instead Radcliffe, fearless crusader for the truth, suggested it had been a waste of money to expose the doping violations of the sport’s most high-profile coach. A bit later she pulled an improvised foil helmet out of her holdall and implied the entire investigation was designed to distract from the recent Christian Coleman case, despite predating it by four years, a suggestion so asinine it is probably an affront to the word “asinine” to align the two.

The one thing Radcliffe didn’t offer up during this stream of thought-blurts was the fact that she is herself an ambassador for Nike. Similarly Steve Cram, so eloquent in his condemnation of Justin Gatlin, so resolute on the mass-banning of Russian athletes, was silent on his own ties to Nike, all the while insisting this week that there should be no guilt by association for those associated with a guilty coach.

And like it or not all of this leaves some uncomfortable questions. Questions about just how involved Salazar has been with UK Athletics in the last nine years. Or how exhaustive the UK Athletics investigation into the Nike Oregon project actually was (UK Athletics, naturally, has a long-term sponsorship deal with Nike).

Plus of course, questions about Farah. Let’s face it, there are plenty of people out there who want Farah to fall, for the hundreds of clean drug tests to count for nothing. It is a frightening prospect. Farah has been a brilliant champion. He remains the face of British Athletics, and of Coe’s own greatest triumph.

And yet, it is only human to feel wary, to want to know a little more about the star UK athlete at a programme that has now been entirely discredited.

Just as it is bizarre to insist, as Coe does, that there really is nothing to see, that nobody should be tarnished by any of this. British hypocrisy can take you a long way. But good luck with that one.

[Ziltoid]

Fantastic article that.

[Zee_26]

Great article. There is no doubt that the IAAF is compromised as the fallout from banning or retro disqualifying athletes who are basically the faces of the sport would just destroy athletics in its entirety. It would be so much worse than the Tour de France after Armstrong got pinged. They, with the help of big sponsors, have painted themselves into a corner that they cannot come out of.

I've always been wary of Farah as it just didn't sit right that someone could rise up to be an all-timer in distance running at the age of 28-29, having done nothing of consequence up to that point not even a junior title of importance. There's plenty of smoke at this point and the fire could be big enough to do massive damage all across the sport.

As for Radcliffe, her hypocrisy is just blatant at this point. This coming from someone who tore up marathons year in and year out, but was always off colour during important track meets when doping tests were more strictly observed. Not suspicious in the slightest!

[SamAteTheRedAcid]

I've always been wary of Farah as it just didn't sit right that someone could rise up to be an all-timer in distance running at the age of 28-29, having done nothing of consequence up to that point not even a junior title of importance. There's plenty of smoke at this point and the fire could be big enough to do massive damage all across the sport.

As for Radcliffe, her hypocrisy is just blatant at this point. This coming from someone who tore up marathons year in and year out, but was always off colour during important track meets when doping tests were more strictly observed. Not suspicious in the slightest!

Both of these also describe a certain cyclist who keeps falling off his bike...for marathons read Grand Tours...

[Ray K]

Magnificent performances all round in the British Cycling/Dr Freeman tribunal. I'm certainly convinced that everything was above board and they all weren't doped to the gills like East German swimmers in the 1970s.

[Ziltoid]

Of course it was! 🤔😉

[Ray K]

Russia banned from Tokyo Olympics and football World Cup

The World Anti-Doping Agency has voted unanimously to ban Russia from international sport for four years for doping offences.

Russia now have 21 days to appeal against the sentence, which would see the country banned from participating at next summer’s Olympics in Tokyo and the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Russia will, however, still compete in next years European football championships, where they will also be one of the host countries.

The punishment is the most severe sanction yet against the country, which has been accused of running a systemic doping programme and deleting crucial laboratory evidence.

Individual Russian athletes, who are able to prove they have not been involved in any doping activity, will be able to compete under an independent banner.

Those guys who did the fake names on Pro Evo Soccer will have to work overtime to get Russia - sorry, East European Bears, or some such shit - into the 2022 qualifiers.

[bradders1011]

Cue the Russian teams turning up in Tokyo and at Euro2020 claiming they were invited by the organisers to keep the peace.

[Caligula?]

Interesting. I always did wonder why the Russians looked like they could run a marathon more in extra time while the other sides looked dead on their feet in ET during that last World Cup. And I think they went to extra time a few times as well.

[BER]

Mad how these doped up Russians keep losing to clean athletes.

[Mister Flip Flop]

City thread is closed but i think this is worthy of a mention. What a surprise to absolutely nobody.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/50850085

[WillG.LFC]

No no no Everton fans say it's us who are doping

[Andy82lfc]

Doesn't matter, the owners have well proved they can pay off whoever they want when it comes to FFP, this wouldn't be any different.

[Chakan]

[I've been a good boy]

Nothing surprising about that vile club anymore, they’ve broken every rule there is and got away with it. That’s why their failures this year are going to be extra sweet.

[Ziltoid]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/51591701

This might be an interesting watch tonight

[Fiasco]

That transcript doesn't look at all good for Farah. It doesn't look good for any of them to be fair, but how he can deny it several times before admitting it citing that he 'forgot' initially when first asked is not what you want to be reading.

[Old No7]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/51591701

This might be an interesting watch tonight

I've seen a clip from an interview with a former Oregon Project athlete called Ari Lambie. It's frightening & the practises going on there are horrible.

On Mo there doesn't seem enough on him yet but the pressure is increasing. UK athletics come out of this really badly too

[SamAteTheRedAcid]

He's guilty as fuck and UK Athletics will do anything to cover it up.

'I just forgot they repeatedly gave me this drug that I spent the last 3 hours denying I'd ever taken...just a memory lapse...' have you been smoking weed as well Mo?

British sports act like they're whiter than white but its the same with Team Sky...it'll all come out at some point. Inhalers my arse. Asthma my arse.

[Old No7]

FWIW if Mo is guilty & let's just say I wouldn't exactly be shocked, then I'm not convinced Mo knows he's guilty. By all accounts the guy isn't very bright, I'd not be surprised that Salazar told him it's all fine & Mo believed him, not sure Mo has the wherewithal to ask questions.

UKA on the other hand seem to be well aware that Salazar is sailing close to the wind & best turn a blind eye. Mo is the golden goose after all & him bringing in medals means more funding

[FlashGordon]

I'm sorry but that doesn't wash with me. If you are a professional athlete the one thing you have to keep on top of is what's going in to your body. No matter how bright you are, you know not to let someone fucking inject you with something and just take their word for it that it's all good. I'd have known that as a teenager.

[Agent99]

How do we know he wasn't just covering himself because injections of any kind are frowned upon? He might have been taking the legal limit of L-Carnitine or been told it was the legal limit by Salazar anyway.

[Jay797]

He's guilty as fuck and UK Athletics will do anything to cover it up.

'I just forgot they repeatedly gave me this drug that I spent the last 3 hours denying I'd ever taken...just a memory lapse...' have you been smoking weed as well Mo?

British sports act like they're whiter than white but its the same with Team Sky...it'll all come out at some point. Inhalers my arse. Asthma my arse.

Completely agree with you here!

[Red-Soldier]

He's guilty as fuck and UK Athletics will do anything to cover it up.

'I just forgot they repeatedly gave me this drug that I spent the last 3 hours denying I'd ever taken...just a memory lapse...' have you been smoking weed as well Mo?

British sports act like they're whiter than white but its the same with Team Sky...it'll all come out at some point. Inhalers my arse. Asthma my arse.

I think you could be right.

[Old No7]

I'm sorry but that doesn't wash with me. If you are a professional athlete the one thing you have to keep on top of is what's going in to your body. No matter how bright you are, you know not to let someone fucking inject you with something and just take their word for it that it's all good. I'd have known that as a teenager.

I'm not saying it's an excuse, just that I don't think you're looking at someone as calculated as Lance Armstrong.

Salazar was clearly willing to do everything to bend the rules & have his assistants or athletes who were getting cut anyway break the rules to see what would show up in test. For me what's worse is that UK athletics seem to be complicit in this or at best chose to turn a blind eye, from a governing body that's shocking.

What we don't know for sure is if Farah broke any rules but it seems safe to say we know he was sailing close to the wind. Even if he didn't, taking a load of medication you don't need because it gains a small advantage is wrong regardless of whether it's withn the rules

[Gerry Attrick]

Sun Yang won’t be winning medals again. CAS have handed him an 8 year ban!

[Ratboy3G]

I didn't realise there was another thread about Manchester City

[Samie]

Sun Yang won’t be winning medals again. CAS have handed him an 8 year ban!

That 7ft Chinese swimmer? 

[Zeb]

I'm not saying it's an excuse, just that I don't think you're looking at someone as calculated as Lance Armstrong.

Salazar was clearly willing to do everything to bend the rules & have his assistants or athletes who were getting cut anyway break the rules to see what would show up in test. For me what's worse is that UK athletics seem to be complicit in this or at best chose to turn a blind eye, from a governing body that's shocking.

What we don't know for sure is if Farah broke any rules but it seems safe to say we know he was sailing close to the wind. Even if he didn't, taking a load of medication you don't need because it gains a small advantage is wrong regardless of whether it's withn the rules

Hard part to being able to agree to that is Farah's memory repeatedly failing once the evidence comes out that he's been lying. There's a point where it gets too convenient where your memory loss only happens when it's around the stuff which looks, at best, dubious. To me, Farah's well past that - only other explanation is that the poor bloke is permanently unaware of where he is, who he's with, what he's taking, what he's told doctors he's taking...

Wasn't there a survey of elite athletes done where they were asked 'Would you take this magic pill which would guarantee you a gold medal but would kill you afterwards?' and the bulk were all for it?

[Old No7]

Sun Yang won’t be winning medals again. CAS have handed him an 8 year ban!

Just read up on it this morning, another governing body more interested in protecting star names than preserving any integrity in their sport, shocker.

[Samie]

World 100m champion Christian Coleman has been provisionally suspended after missing a third doping test.

: https://bbc.in/3d6csaZ

[Welshred]

The BBC have missed a bit out of what he's claiming as well - the drug testers arrived outside of the allocated time he needed to be in his flat and he was in his flat during that time without any testers arriving. It seems a bit fishy.

[Samie]

World 100m champion Christian Coleman has been banned for two years after missing three drugs tests.

He'll miss the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics.

https://bbc.in/2Ttfhf5

[Ray K]

Tifo's guide to doping in football, written by Nick Harris (@sportingintel).

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/3E3hZyx-8BQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/3E3hZyx-8BQ</a>

[gazzalfc]

James Magnussen to make swimming 'world record' attempt taking banned drugs

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/swimming/68248821

Ex-world champion James Magnussen says he will take banned drugs in an attempt to swim faster than a world record.

The Australian, 32, will come out of retirement to compete in the Enhanced Games, where doping is allowed.

Magnussen will try to swim faster than the 50-metre freestyle record, though it would not be official because there would be no drug-testing regime.

"I'll juice to the gills and I'll break it in six months," said Magnussen, who will be paid $1m (£792,000).

The men's 50m freestyle world record of 20.91 seconds was set by Brazilian Cesar Cielo in 2009, though he was wearing a performance-enhancing, non-textile swimsuit that was banned a few months later.

The Enhanced Games was founded by Australian businessman Aron D'Souza in 2023 and would not be subject to World Anti-Doping Agency rules.

It is planned to include athletics, swimming, weightlifting, gymnastics and combat sports, though no date or venue for the event has yet been set.

"An Australian swimmer, the most important sport in the Australian psyche. I am just so proud that it's another fellow Aussie," D'Souza told the Australian Associated Press.

"I have no doubt now that James has done this publicly there will be dozens, hundreds of athletes [ready to join]. My phone is blowing up."

Magnussen, who won 100m freestyle world titles in 2011 and 2013 and Olympic silver at London 2012, has a personal best of 21.52 in the 50m that he achieved 11 years ago.

Despite being free to take whatever performance-enhancing drugs he likes, Magnussen says he does not want to take any risks with his health.

"I thought it was an interesting concept from the first time I heard it," Magnussen, who retired in 2019, told Sydney's SEN radio.

"We're pretty aware as Olympians, particularly in Australia, that performance enhancements are going on in other countries, but it's not a level playing field internationally.

"I want to go to America, I want to get the right advice and take the right supplements.

"I'd like to document it through video form. Show how it can be done safely, properly, and create an athlete we haven't seen before."

[B0151?]

We can hoohah about an 'Enhanced Games' and the dangers. But I'd be a bit of a hypocrite to be honest. Love watching the Worlds Strongest Man competitions and seeing what madness those crazy roided up monsters are capable of. The only thing is if it were to really kick off as a thing then it does diminish the supposedly natural competitions. But sometimes that supposedly feels like a mighty big contention.