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Martin Fagan, OoC positive for EPO. Guess where? Flagstaff!

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Cloxxki

Mar 19, 2009
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http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/0114/1224310245784.html

Injuries thrown on top of the likely mix. I've heard one too many stories about surprise performances of talented athletes after sad injuries. En subsequent references to possible EPO use.

I wonder, was he microdosing or just the typical Roy Sentjens story, hoping to not be tested doing large doses? Relying on a clean (absent) blood passport?

USA seems to be the new Spain. I see lots of Europeans go that way. Even one that made the papers by being part of Operacion Galgo, amongst other affairs.

Semi-offtopic:
The Stanford racs are exceptionally strong for 10k runners. PB's, limits, everything is possible there. Miracles happen.
I wonder, what's the anti-doping status of the Stanford meets? Or is that irrelevant with the medical knowledge on tap in the USA above a mile of a(l)titude)?
I know that some races in Northern Africa and the Middle East get strong fields by promising there will not be anti-dopage present.
 
DirtyWorks

DirtyWorks

Feb 10, 2010
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Cloxxki said:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/0114/1224310245784.html

Injuries thrown on top of the likely mix. I've heard one too many stories about surprise performances of talented athletes after sad injuries. En subsequent references to possible EPO use.

I wonder, was he microdosing or just the typical Roy Sentjens story, hoping to not be tested doing large doses? Relying on a clean (absent) blood passport?

USA seems to be the new Spain. I see lots of Europeans go that way. Even one that made the papers by being part of Operacion Galgo, amongst other affairs.
Click to expand...

Sourcing would not be a tremendous problem. Just head to Mexico.

We know Tour of California got a free doping pass.

Semi-offtopic:
Cloxxki said:
The Stanford racs are exceptionally strong for 10k runners. PB's, limits, everything is possible there. Miracles happen.
I wonder, what's the anti-doping status of the Stanford meets? Or is that irrelevant with the medical knowledge on tap in the USA above a mile of a(l)titude)?
Click to expand...
That's a two part question.
Stanford is a very privileged school. The most privileged on the West Coast. Plenty of money to buy an athletics program there.

The meets are all NCAA and while they may have anti-doping at some events, it's relatively easy to keep negative.

The infamous BALCO hired kids to read research in Stanford's library to build their PED's.
 
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Cloxxki

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We're talking about the USA here. Why would they have to take their meds from Mexico? Are we presuming America's medical system to be too rich to be corrupt? Seriously. Yes, having Mexico around the corner offers options, but please don't let that be a reason to give those further from the MX border a free pass. We all know about Joe Papp. No Mexico needed for his supply, or I could have missed something.
Top trainers who deliver (performances) attract athletes from around the globe. With Pascua, runners only needed to ask for the white lunch bag, to be offered a price quote. Why would USA be any different?

The semi off-topic part:
Let's just presume only the Stanford podium winners get properly doping tested. See the kinds of times can be run there by getting 4th. There is the false pretense of a well-sanctioned event, yet a national runner is extremely unlikely to get tested. The race is well above their usual level. Deducting half a minute from a 10k PB is almost a given, supposedly due to the high level. I know for a fact some runners are going there for an Olympic ticket. I have no reason to distrust them per say, but hope there is actually no founded reason for it, which is why I inquire.
 
scullster46

scullster46

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I'm not totally sure that you can attribute a place specifically with drugs, it just happens that athletes tend to congregate in similar areas to train because that area has something good to offer them, whether it be trails, hills, mountains, air quality etc. Because of this, the better an area is for training, the more athletes flock there, the greater likelihood one or more of them are doping. Sure, there are some places that are shadier than others, but Flagstaff is one of America's running hotspots right now (along with Portland/Eugene, and Boulder to a lesser extent).

As for Fagan, I heard he was having lots of injury issues and was in a bad place mentally for a while, which is presumably when he started doping. He has been MIA for a month or so, so he probably knew this was going to happen. I'm not trying to defend what he did at all, but he was definitely grasping at straws when he started doping. It's at least somewhat reassuring that he recognizes that what he did was wrong, since he isn't looking to get the b sample tested.

As for the Stanford question (It's actually the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invite, Stanford invitational is a few weeks before), I don't think the testing is done by the NCAA, as it isn't an NCAA meet. The reason for the fast times is due to the fact that there are fewer and fewer 10k's out there to get qualifying times, and its early enough that most top level guys can set a small peak there and still peak for Olympics/Worlds. It also usually has perfect running weather, and the crowd atmosphere is terrific. Combine all this with some decent pacing and you get some very fast times.

Edit: Looks like the Stanford testing is done by USATF. http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/stan/sports/c-track/auto_pdf/2011PJIinfo.pdf
 
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Cloxxki

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Someone anonymous on letsrun.com says Fagan's been runored to be on the syringe for some 2 years now, and surprised it took this long. Possibly factual. Possibly just steering public views.

Was Madrid become a hotspot for athletes because of the good trainer and results, or the fact that Pascua was coochy coochy with Fuentes and his strawmen? Some trainers around the world are bound to have shady reputations. This will steer the morally strong elsewhere, and draw in the weak, regardless of being factual. Salazar is a popular and shady trainer today. Some don't know how quickly to sign up with him, other try him shortly and then flee camp with vague reasons.

So would national athletics unions need to address USATF to have their athletes tested at the meet, and would that always be granted? Seems like a no-brainer if an athlete is going there to take a shot at a big time, yet likely in the sidelines of the event itself.
 
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More Strides than Rides said:
Another topic to throw in is his sort of ex-training partner abdirahmen just qualified for the olympic marathon, at age 35 after a dull few years. He's always been a wildcard, but now I'm a skeptical fan.
Click to expand...

He has been crash-interviewed by the fine folks that are the sheperds of the letsrun-stampede http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=4403364 and seems genuinely surprised.

Quite a difference from Jens-going-berserk at the slightest hint of the d-word!
 
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Cloxxki

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On a Dutch forum, someone introducing himself as personal friend of Fagan, says the choice to dope was very recent, only after a string of physical difficulties.

It seems logical, but I am not so sure the Roy Sentjens motive is always valid. How do we know someone wasn't on it for years, and in bad times, a positive was merely thrown on top of the other drama?

If I were a long-time doper with known recent history off setbacks, I'd claim a recent decision also, to keep them from digging deeper and scratching my best results.
"I drove to Mexico and it was very easy to get. I did it on a whim. It was the first needle I ever seld-administered, I was scared". Uhuh. Sometimes such a story is true.
 
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Cloxxki

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MacRoadie said:
Doesn't take much to learn. My wife had gestational diabetes during her last pregnancy and it took the OB nurse about a minute to show her how to do insulin injections.

I'm guessing there are a few youtube videos out there from legitimate sites (as well as the sites themselves).
Click to expand...

You might be right. And sure, everything is on the internet.
Maybe I am just incapable (scared sh|t) to mess with needles, thus useless as a needle doper. That said, he was in a really bad place, so it's a plausible explanation. An expert might want to review his prior test results though.

BTW, respect for the Irish ordering that test. They did what they had to, and didn't let an athlete go without a test.
The testers ringing the athlete to make an appointment though...that's another story. How much water or masking aids could Fagan have taken on, bad flushd urine out, in the mean time?
 
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