Currently listening to Hajo Seppelt's podcast Geheimsache Doping. Super interesting, well prepared. But episode 7 is a manifestation of what is wrong with self-proclaimed anti-doping leadership in Germany. Its the case of Dieter Baumann. 5.000m Olympic champion in 1992 tested positive for Nandrolone (or to be precise - a metabolite) in 1999 while preparing for Sydney 2000. In fact, he tested positive twice in a short period. Baumann himself was also a self-proclaimed fighter against doping and very vocally insisiting on his own clean self and clean sport in general. Well, the first very questionable fact is obviosuly that he was a track and field star in the 90s where, like in cycling, blood doping and doping in general was through the roof. His 5000m European record held from 1997 to 2021. Like all good doping records. But lets get not lost in guilt by assumption here.
The real inconsistency in reasoning happens in the podcast itself. Baumann obviously played the victim card (like basically any proven doper as well). But what is really outrageous is that the well renowned lab in Cologne (still held in high regard) and Werner Franke (doping fighter and leading person in exposing the DDR doping system) decided to help Baumann (thats already a big wtf-moment, especially the lab). Franke claimed Nandrolone is produced by the body in times of extreme stress, the labor sent employees to Baumann's house to test for contamined supplements. Both directions led to nowhere, but the lab tried to support Baumann further. So they collected more items (water, salt, toothpaste, soap, ...) and told Baumann to collect his urine for 10 days, every day. Every of these tests was positive for Nandrolone again. Now, knowing the half life, it can't come from the initial doping offence. And why would Baumann keep on doping when already caught? That at least was the stance of the lab. So more convinced of the innocence than ever, they tested the other things and et voila - the toothpaste was contamined.
The German track and field association lets the case go and Baumann is allowed to run again. In June 2000 he sets 13:18 as time in Nürnberg - Olympia limit achieved. In August 2000 (shortly before Sydney) he sets 13:13 in Zürich - World Best Time in this year. He looks set for a medal in Sydney but the IAAF is not having it - 2 year ban, no start at the Olympics. The wining time in Sydney was 13:35 (now, the final was slow, but the best time of any athlete in either of the rounds was 13:22, almost 10s behind Baumann's World Best Time). Anyway, he came back in 2002 for the European Championship and got Silver over 10.000m. Why he didn't start in the 5.000m where his 2000 times were almost 30s faster than the medallists, I don't know. Afterwards he ended his career.
Now its not (or not mainly) the fact that German authorities are trying to protect their athlete (bad enough but thats happening globally to more or less degrees) but it is the inconsistency that puts me off. As said in the beginning, Germany (and Seppelt/ARD) wants to portray tehmselves as anti-doping frontrunners. Yet, Baumann is treated very differently as foreigners would be. Ben Johnson is ridiculed in the podcast for explaining his positive test with a member of Carl Lewis' team spiking his drink. Probably rightly so but what exactly is different in Baumann's case? The most logical explanation is really that he doped, went with the "I am clean" excuse, and used his chance when the Cologne lab came to his rescue and just spiked his own toothpaste. Easiest thing ever. Yet the only guy who mentions this scenario is Seppelt (have to credit him for that) in the podcast. Ultimately the tonality is so different than in other episodes that I have to think Germans (and with that I mean the media and authorities) are as hypocritical as it gets when it comes to doping. Still.
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