NY Times article - Christian Hesch

wgtomblin · 15-10-2012 10:12am #1

Apologies if this was already posted...

Interesting article about US-based distance runner, Christian Hesch, admitting to using EPO after team-mates found an empty vial and confronted him.
He represented USA in the Armagh International race.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/sports/runner-christian-hesch-describes-doping-with-epo.html?hp&_r=0

TRR · 15-10-2012 10:26am

I found this picture of him online. I think it sums up his attitude to other runners who compete fairly.

wgtomblin · 15-10-2012 10:31am

The showboating before the finish line (doing press-ups), as mentioned in the article, is not on in my opinion. All the more so now, because he was cheating!

He says:

“Maybe this is my cue to walk away, but I’m real tempted to make a real clear point that I can and have run all those times perfectly clean. It’s not that difficult to run these times, and it doesn’t take any outside help.”

How many times do we hear this from cheats who must now come clean? Then why take the stuff in the first place?

TFBubendorfer · 15-10-2012 11:15am

wgtomblin wrote: »

“Maybe this is my cue to walk away, but I’m real tempted to make a real clear point that I can and have run all those times perfectly clean. It’s not that difficult to run these times, and it doesn’t take any outside help.”

He's still in denial then, the cheating scumbag.

Guys like that should be thrown into jail for fraud as well as for theft. After all he has cheated clean runners out of their winnings.

nerraw1111 · 15-10-2012 11:26am

The guy is delusional.

I reckon this is a bigger problem than people think. Earlier this year, you had the case of an amateur cyclist, not a particularly good one, getting caught with EPO. It's easy to get, easy to administer.

Whenever someone gets caught, you tend to hear the same story. "I was injured, so I was just taking EPO to get back to where I was."

RayCun · 15-10-2012 11:31am

At what level in Irish races do they start drug-testing? This guy was winning a lot of relatively small purses. How many races in Ireland have that level of prize for the winners?

thirstywork2 · 15-10-2012 11:49am

RayCun wrote: »

At what level in Irish races do they start drug-testing? This guy was winning a lot of relatively small purses. How many races in Ireland have that level of prize for the winners?

biggest prizes in Ireland would be for marathon's where a runner can earn up to 1500euro with the exception Dublin & Belfast.

Most top races will have between 200-500euro.

I think any Irish athlete who would think of taking EPO for prize money would compete abroad as the prize money is pretty crap here.

You could win a half marathon here and get a 3month membership for a gym :eek:
Regards testing I only ever see it happening at national events eg track & field champs and cross country.Outside of that it's mainly calls to Athletes homes if expect.
A friend of mine who hadn't raced in two years and had a broken leg in hospital had a tester visit him one day.He just laughed and said what a waste of money as drug tests are expensive.

Pisco Sour · 15-10-2012 1:11pm

nerraw1111 wrote: »

The guy is delusional.

I reckon this is a bigger problem than people think. Earlier this year, you had the case of an amateur cyclist, not a particularly good one, getting caught with EPO. It's easy to get, easy to administer.

True, but at the lower levels it is also easier to get caught. It's easy to get hold of EPO, but a hell of a lot harder and more expensive to have a proper specific doping programme administered by a doping doctor. This is why Armstrong got away with it for so long. This is why Spanish sports people have continued to get away with their dealings with Dr Fuentes. They are professional dopers. Compare this to an amateur like Cathal Lombard who was a fecking eejit, who didn't really know what he was doing. He was a sitting duck.

I don't believe many low level athletes are taking EPO. It's too easy to get caught if you don't know what you are doing and have the tailor made doping knowledge around you.

dna_leri · 15-10-2012 1:32pm

It's ok, he has apologised:
http://running.competitor.com/2012/10/news/christian-hesch-publicly-apologizes-for-doping_60364?utm_medium=whats-hot

TRR · 15-10-2012 1:42pm

Pisco Sour wrote: »

Compare this to an amateur like Cathal Lombard who was a fecking eejit, who didn't really know what he was doing. He was a sitting duck.

He didn't actually get caught taking it as far as I know. He was caught importing it and admitted to taking it. Or maybe they tested him after they found out he imported it?.

Pisco Sour · 15-10-2012 1:46pm

TRR wrote: »

He didn't actually get caught taking it as far as I know. He was caught importing it and admitted to taking it. Or maybe they tested him after they found out he imported it?.

I'm almost 100% certain he tested positive. I remember them talking about B samples and everything.

RayCun · 15-10-2012 1:50pm

Tested positive

For a guy who says he wasn't trying to justify what he did, there were an awful lot of "yeah, but..."s in that story:rolleyes:

Kurt Godel · 15-10-2012 1:59pm

dna_leri wrote: »

It's ok, he has apologised:
http://running.competitor.com/2012/10/news/christian-hesch-publicly-apologizes-for-doping_60364?utm_medium=whats-hot

So he only took EPO to speed up injury recovery, and anyway loads of others were doing it, and he'll help clean this scourge by fighting for better testing, and at least he wasn't a scummy drunk driver...:rolleyes:

That's some "apology", he even manages to cast doubt over everyone who has been beating him. What an ego.

Krusty_Clown · 15-10-2012 3:31pm

Runner's World doesn't paint quite such a forgiving picture. It sounds like even after he was confronted/outed, he wanted to go on competing and trying to pick up prizes.

sconhome · 15-10-2012 4:00pm

So does he get stripped of his wins and banned for life?

I can't understand this, I doped but now I'm clean attitude, and being allowed race again. If you've been proven a cheat you should not be allowed race for money again. End of.

Hard Worker · 15-10-2012 5:57pm

TRR wrote: »

He didn't actually get caught taking it as far as I know. He was caught importing it and admitted to taking it. Or maybe they tested him after they found out he imported it?.

That's correct. Customs found him importing the stuff and reported it.

TRR · 15-10-2012 10:22pm

Hard Worker wrote: »

That's correct. Customs found him importing the stuff and reported it.

Yeah I knew that was the case all right. Did they actually carry out a test and catch him as well? I thought he just admitted to taking it when confronted.

thirstywork2 · 15-10-2012 10:25pm

http://running.competitor.com/files/2012/08/Hesch_ChristianLeads-Providence12.jpg

Pisco Sour · 16-10-2012 3:13am

TRR wrote: »

Yeah I knew that was the case all right. Did they actually carry out a test and catch him as well? I thought he just admitted to taking it when confronted.

He failed a test also

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/3544612.stm
http://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/lombard-tests-positive-for-epo-160631.html

M cebee · 16-10-2012 2:16pm

nevermind him

i wish they'd blow the lid on elite athletics like they've done in cycling

i reckon it would be good for the sport

the carry-on at the moment is silly-at least in cycling the fans are not easily fooled now

nerraw1111 · 16-10-2012 5:06pm

Anyone listen to the most recent Marathon talk? Lee Troop was on it.

He basically said he wants the athletes he coaches to follow believable results and pretty much ignores some of the ‘superhuman results’ African athletes are achieving.

“It is ridiculous to think that so many athletes in Africa can run 2.04. You question everything that’s going on…as far as Westerners go, you look at people like Ryan Hall, who ran 2.06, you know he was clean.”

He said sub 2 hours is humanly impossible.

Worth a listen.

fiddy3 · 16-10-2012 9:13pm

Yes Ryan Hall must be clean because he's interviewed every week on websites Troop reads and talks to God and God wouldn't promote EPO and Jesus wouldn't go juicing up so neither does Hall, whereas all those faraway Africans we've never heard of who speak Amharic and Swahili just run too fast so none of them can be believed. Good man Troop, tosser.

Pherekydes · 16-10-2012 9:43pm

nerraw1111 wrote: »

Anyone listen to the most recent Marathon talk? Lee Troop was on it.

He basically said he wants the athletes he coaches to follow believable results and pretty much ignores some of the ‘superhuman results’ African athletes are achieving.

“It is ridiculous to think that so many athletes in Africa can run 2.04. You question everything that’s going on…as far as Westerners go, you look at people like Ryan Hall, who ran 2.06, you know he was clean.”

He said sub 2 hours is humanly impossible.

Worth a listen.

When did anyone run close to sub 2 hours?

Way back they thought man would pass out if he tried to run a mile in less than 4 minutes.

Success breeds success and the East Africans have a critical mass, and they are training together, which certainly helps.

NY Times article - Christian Hesch

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