Doping in other sports?

[Rob5091]

Plus, the entire top three went below Kiptum's WR.

...and the clock is ticking the countdown to the seemingly inevitable doping suspension.

 

[Rob5091]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...sets-new-target-london-marathon-win-athletics

Sawe was asked whether he agreed with his coach, Claudio Berardelli that 1:58 was possible in his next race, he smiled. “I agree I can run 1:58,” he replied. “It’s only a matter of time. If you have good starting preparation for any race, then to achieve anything is possible.”

Interesting titbit of news -

Sawe also thanked Adidas for paying the Athletics Integrity Unit $50,000 (£37,000) a year to ensure that he is drug tested more – which he hopes will make people trust his performances more.

Just like the good ol' days when Lance brought the UCI a blood testing machine.
And of course it's all about the fueling - sounds familiar, and being special .... bread and honey, the breakfast of champions!
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...don-marathon-sabastian-sawe-world-record-2026

Sabastian Sawe’s astonishing world marathon record of one hour 59 minutes and 30 seconds at Sunday’s London Marathon was fuelled by running 150 miles a week, wearing the lightest super shoes in history and a pre-race breakfast of bread and honey ...“There is no doubt we are in the new era of marathon running because of the shoe and proper fuelling,” he added. “So we are super-glad to Adidas and Maurten. They have come to Kenya so many times to support us, because all of us realise that Sabastian was not just a good one, but he’s a special one.

 

[Invicituz]

Chicago and Berlin are probably slightly faster than London, so it's likely that the world record will be surpassed again on these courses in the coming years. A milestone has been achieved with the new world record, rather like Roger Bannister's first sub-four-minute mile in 1954, that sparked an influx of runners achieving that feat. Now that the 'impossible' barrier is broken, more athletes will possibly go under 2 hours.

Of course Eliud Kipchoge ran 1:59:40.2 for the event in 2019 at the Ineos 1:59 Challenge but was ineligible to be ratified as an official world record due to the conditions that it was held under.

 

[Rob5091]

Mesterolone, metandienone, oxandrolone and stanozolol, not a bad combination for a baseball player.
https://ita.sport/news/the-ita-noti...ez-of-an-apparent-anti-doping-rule-violation/

The ITA reports that a sample collected from Alexei Ramirez Rodriguez, a baseball player representing Cuba during the 2026 World Baseball Classic has returned an AAF for metabolites of mesterolone, metandienone, oxandrolone and stanozolol.

 

[Rob5091]

Chelsea soccer player Mykhailo Mudryk facing a 4 year ban -
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cqxpry93zv1o

BBC Sport has been told Mudryk was banned by the FA in January but that only a close-knit group of people around him and a small number of people at Chelsea were informed.

That is because the FA's anti-doping programme is deemed strictly confidential - all parts of the process, from testing to discussions with lawyers, are carried out behind closed doors in order to respect the privacy of footballers.

The exact prohibited substance for which Mudryk tested positive has never been named by the FA, but BBC Sport understands it is the cardiovascular medication meldonium,

Only recently we had the comment that compared to football players, cyclists are angels.

 

[Rob5091]

Just as I was thinking that the ITA were sitting and twiddling their thumbs ...

Taekwondo guy gets ban for missing three tests, as does a gymnast, and no less then 3 weightlifters on the same day get suspensions for first, metandienone, second, androsterone, etiocholanolone and adiol(s), as well as boldenone and third, good old fashioned growth hormone (hGH).

Busy boys and gals at the ITA, it seems.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Plus, the entire top three went below Kiptum's WR.

Isn't it associated with those shoes? It's not like one guy was super fast but a few guys went at light-speed. Too bad Kiptum didn't have a chance to go sub 2 hours even before this marathon.

 

[Red Rick]

Chelsea soccer player Mykhailo Mudryk facing a 4 year ban -
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cqxpry93zv1o


Only reently we had the comment that compared to football players, cyclists are angels.

Football is enormously suss and it seems to me that the positives are just individauls *** up by accident.

For example I think you had City (UAE owners) outrunning everyone by huge distance at some point, and everything about the Klopp mythos of "we set the standards, players come in 30 minutes early, insane training every day insane intensity games 3x a wee" just sounds so *** suss man.

 

[Rechtschreibfehler]

Football is enormously suss and it seems to me that the positives are just individauls *** up by accident.

And even in those cases, usually they are portrayed as not actually real doping cases, but, well accidents. They will always give some kind of excuse and the media will willingly talk about this excuse so long that it feels like it's at least 50/50 if there actually was doping, even when the case is clear.

HSV for example think Vuskovic is a poor victim of the system, guy got a 4 year ban, and are waiting for him to return to the pros at the end of that.

For example I think you had City (UAE owners) outrunning everyone by huge distance at some point, and everything about the Klopp mythos of "we set the standards, players come in 30 minutes early, insane training every day insane intensity games 3x a wee" just sounds so *** suss man.

It's not just the running. In football you have so many different body types and physical characteristics that you might want to tweak. Imagine for example you have a wonderfully gifted playmaker, who just can't run for 90 minutes. Or players who are super gifted with the ball, yet always get out muscled by defenders. Or a forward who needs to run faster, jump higher, etc.
Goretzka for example turned into tank-Goretzka in one summer. And you just have to look Gareth Bale in the face to thing HGH.

Edit:
And of course let's not forget the Puerto implications, and Fuentes comment, that he won't talk about Football anymore, because he cares for his life. That was after training plans for Real and Barca had turned up, which were said to be his for those clubs. Initially I think he gave some hints, but then fast refused to talk about the sport at all.

 

[meat puppet]

Isn't it associated with those shoes? It's not like one guy was super fast but a few guys went at light-speed. Too bad Kiptum didn't have a chance to go sub 2 hours even before this marathon.

Shoes definitely play a role, by memory there have been reports of 3-6% increases in efficiency (oxygen cost of locomotion) in the literature. But there's quite some nuance there. First, carbon plated shoes have been around for 10yrs, so if it's the carbon shoes, they have been driving things for 10yrs now. Second, while carbon plates get all the press, I think it's advances in foam tech that drives things by making shoes super bouncy (plates add stability). Third, presumably supershoes not only speed up races in a direct manner, but allow higher training loads without injury. So yes.

That said, I think there are more important factors. Number one to me is that marathon is no longer an end-of-career option for trackies who are no longer able to keep up with the kids. Even Kipchoge represented this path. There is now money in marathons and young guns go there directly.

Finally it would be odd if runners didn't have access to whatever porridge cyclists are having. I mean, quite prominent east africans have been popped. Don't think it has been about having too much ugali.

 

[TheKidsCallMeBoss]

Isn't it associated with those shoes? It's not like one guy was super fast but a few guys went at light-speed. Too bad Kiptum didn't have a chance to go sub 2 hours even before this marathon.

Lol. This is associated with shady shoe manufacturers.

Adidas and Nike run extensive doping programs -> they have the financial and political power to cover up & hide positive doping cases -> they exploit poor African athletes and recruit them into their doping program -> thanks to doping, African athletes are achieving faster and faster running times = Adidas and Nike sell massive quantities of shoes priced at 500 euros.

 

[BahamontesPhantom]

In football I expect they take a lot of dodgy/banned stuff for all kinds of minor injuries and knocks as well

 

[Unchained]

Just as I was thinking that the ITA were sitting and twiddling their thumbs ...

Taekwondo guy gets ban for missing three tests, as does a gymnast, and no less then 3 weightlifters on the same day get suspensions for first, metandienone, second, androsterone, etiocholanolone and adiol(s), as well as boldenone and third, good old fashioned growth hormone (hGH).

Busy boys and gals at the ITA, it seems.

I still don't know if ITA can really fall into the independent category. They don't have transparency about finance.. If you want real comparisons I would find the numbers helpful.. Number of athletes that participate overall, and the frequency of testing, money spent per athlete for testing.. It's sort of an accepted folklore that pro cyclists are the most tested. I know that the NFL doesn't use ITA, they only have an @18 game season so I really don't know how much testing is happening.. In world football I suspect it's less based on the total number of players participating..

 

[Rechtschreibfehler]

In football I expect they take a lot of dodgy/banned stuff for all kinds of minor injuries and knocks as well

I'd not be surprised if the most advanced doping techniques are employed in football, with the best funding.
Football budgets are so high that, especially for big enough teams, it should be "easy" to just buy the best the black market has to offer and give them resources to figure out what works best.
From what I remember a lot of footballers just let the doctors to with them what the doctors want, there's plenty of anecdotes of footballers saying they just took whatever was given to them, injections included of course.
Also football has many different sides that doped athletes could benefit from. Lot's of people have a good understanding of the game + technique, yet their bodies are wildly different often.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

From what I remember a lot of footballers just let the doctors to with them what the doctors want, there's plenty of anecdotes of footballers saying they just took whatever was given to them, injections included of course.
Also football has many different sides that doped athletes could benefit from. Lot's of people have a good understanding of the game + technique, yet their bodies are wildly different often.

It's also about recovery. People have always hidden behind the skill wall, because ultimately no amount of drugs will turn your average Segunda División player into Kylian Mbappé. However, what doping will do is enable those players to be fresh to perform at their best throughout the match. The amount of top teams who can keep running like buzzsaws when they need to get a goal in the 95th minute demonstrates that superior fitness, fair or foul, is a difference-maker and that's where the potential benefits come in.

And yes, fair point on the "trust the doctors, don't care what anything they give me is". I mean, remember Samir Nasri posting pictures of the illegal treatment he was getting on social media, having no idea he was just, to quote the great philosopher Walter Sobchak, "entering a world of pain"?

 

[Rob5091]

We also had Íñigo San Millán and Joseba Elguezabal off to Athletic Bilbao from UAE.

 

[Rob5091]

I still don't know if ITA can really fall into the independent category. They don't have transparency about finance.. If you want real comparisons I would find the numbers helpful.. Number of athletes that participate overall, and the frequency of testing, money spent per athlete for testing.. It's sort of an accepted folklore that pro cyclists are the most tested. I know that the NFL doesn't use ITA, they only have an @18 game season so I really don't know how much testing is happening.. In world football I suspect it's less based on the total number of players participating..

Back in 2018 when the ITA was being set up -
https://www.insidethegames.biz/arti...outlines-conduct-and-independence-of-new-body

Set-up costs of around $30 million (£21.2 million/€24.3 million) are being provided by the sports world but all funding will be stopped once they break even and can survive, it is hoped, off the income they generate from the services they provide. ... One theoretical advantage of the centralised ITA system means that a group of testers could go to a country to inspect athletes across a range of different sport, rather than the previous system of sports acting individually.

Which, I just remembered, is what was said when Lazkano was suspeneded - 10 to 12 other athletes were under investigation.
They do make national anti-doping organiztions like a 5th wheel when ITA are involved.

 

[Rob5091]

THe road to greatness is paved with gluten free bread apparently - Mo Salah's regime-
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd0p3v7kn1mo

He stays away from sugar and eats only gluten-free brown bread.

Not sure if this is a good statement or not!

He uses elite-level gym and rehabilitation facilities, including his own home hyperbaric oxygen chamber to aid recovery and reduce fatigue. "I have everything at home," he has said. "It's like a hospital."

 

[Kopfsteinpflaster]

Football is enormously suss and it seems to me that the positives are just individauls *** up by accident.

For example I think you had City (UAE owners) outrunning everyone by huge distance at some point, and everything about the Klopp mythos of "we set the standards, players come in 30 minutes early, insane training every day insane intensity games 3x a wee" just sounds so *** suss man.

I always found Klopp teams very suspect. They run everybody into the ground once he arrives, must be those motivational skills. But if you hint to football fans that it may not all be bread and water with Holy Jürgen, watch his disciples scratch out your eyes.