He was a 5000m legend, did he hold a WR though? I'm just checking wikipedia and we had WR with David Moorcroft (5000m) in 1982 and David Bedford (10000m) in 1973
World Athletics Championships 2017
- Thread starter QueenOfGoths
- Start date
Casual Observer
enough
In the old days, maybe even to some extent now, there were a load of non-Olympic and non-World Championship middle distance events that Foster, Cram, Coe and Ovett broke the worlds records for. 1000m, mile, 2000m, 3000m etc. Cram famously broke 3 world records in 19 days in 1985 (1500m, mile, 2000m). I wonder what David Moorcroft is up to these days - was head of UK athletics (or something similar) for a while but don't hear his name mentioned much anymore.
Dr. Furface
One small step for me
Canada had the best running gear though, with France getting the silver medalGB and NI win coolest trackies too
Maggot
The Cake of Liberty
He's been asked the same questions again and again and has generally shown remarkable restraint when answering them. He patiently waited until he'd finished competing at those distances before speaking his mind.
Sirena
Don't monkey with the buzzsaw
I can't really believe that.
The delay was 10 minutes and it was a very warm evening.....
I think it's just a bit of a whinge.
Mr Retro
Beware hedgehogs
He hasn't answered the questions.
Maggot
The Cake of Liberty
Which questions?
Mr Retro
Beware hedgehogs
Really? I'll spell them out if you genuinely don't know of them. But if you're sticking your head in the doping sand I can't be fucked.
Sirena
Don't monkey with the buzzsaw
There has never been any specific allegation aimed at Mo Farah. There have been insinuations aimed at Salazar and Galen Rupp.
There are no 'questions' to answer other than those in your own mind.
Mr Retro
Beware hedgehogs
Salazar, Farahs coach is under investigation by Usada. That's not insinuation.
Mr Retro
Beware hedgehogs
These are the questions in my mind, and in many others too. I want Farah to:
Address why he believes his coach Salazar is innocent of any misuse of TUE charges. Why, in the name of Christ, when Salazar came under investigation, and still is under investigation, he stayed training with him and didn't get the fuck out of dodge asap. It's too late now to distance himself.
What went on around Jama Aden? Why did he go to train in Ethiopia in 2015, apparently organised by himself and why did he train with Driouc when he was there?
The explanation for why his biological passport was 'Likely doping; Passport suspicious: further data is required” using data collected up to November 2015 before he "very recently became ‘normal’” in 2016.
How many drug tests did he miss, if any and why?
Some of the things he has done above can be explained by naivety or bad judgment. Taken all together and with his refusal to answer questions when put to him about same, its suspicious.
He hasn't answered any of these questions in a mature manner. He first of all refused to answer any kind of questions around the above and recently won't answer any questions at all. More bad judgement or something to hide?
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
You're taking a leaked document from people with an ax to grind as gospel? Even if that remark is an accurate transcript, you know it's the opinion of one person, not of wada as a whole
Mr Retro
Beware hedgehogs
I'm not taking it as gospel. What a bizarre conclusion to draw from what I wrote. I'm putting it together with other pieces of information and saying there are questions for Farah to answer. Just come out and answer them. They are there weather you or anybody else likes it. Show his clean passport and that question goes away and people like me asking the questions look stupid. And probably won't ask any other questions.
Mr Retro
Beware hedgehogs
Can you point me to these answers? I've genuinely missed them.
E2a: releasing a statement isn't answering the questions by the way
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
It is if they answer the questions.
Mr Retro
Beware hedgehogs
Fair enough. If you're happy with the explanations good for you. I'm not. Many others aren't either. And in my opinion neither should we if we really, truly want a clean sport.
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
I am not 100% convinced, but I'm not about any of them. I don't see any value in just asking the same questions again. Nor in singling Farah out. There might be a case for everyone's biological passport being public I suppose, but it would also mean giving up a vast amount of (perfectly reasonable) privacy.
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
I guess the problem is that we've been burned so often, that the rumours have proven to be true so often, the suspicion proven well founded, that it feels naive to want these rumours, these questions, this time, not to be true.
In cycling, all the whistle blowers, who were widely disbelieved at first, have proved to have been telling the truth. It stretches credulity to think Salazar is clean - and his reaction to the allegations has echoes of Armstrong, namely smear the accusers, accuse them of agendas. Are they all lying? I very much doubt it. Yet he's still Farah's coach. At best that's poor judgement.
In cycling, all the whistle blowers, who were widely disbelieved at first, have proved to have been telling the truth. It stretches credulity to think Salazar is clean - and his reaction to the allegations has echoes of Armstrong, namely smear the accusers, accuse them of agendas. Are they all lying? I very much doubt it. Yet he's still Farah's coach. At best that's poor judgement.
Last edited:
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
You do know this 'axe to grind' line was taken by Lance Armstrong for years and years and years.
I think we don't want to think the worst because we want to believe and we don't want our moments on the sofa cheering someone on to become tainted memories. I see that with Bradley Wiggins - I don't want to believe that he cheated to win the Tour de France, but all the evidence is that he did. And it's interlocking evidence, a pattern of omission, half-truth and loss of documentation. He did. He cheated. Brailsford cheated. Brailsford is a cheat, and an orchestrator of cheating. We need to acknowledge the balance of probabilities at least even if it's short of absolute proof.
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
Sure. But I dont believe there is one top athlete that doesn't try to make as much use of TUE's etc as they can. A key part of that gaining the extra 1% is about pushing everything to the limit. And that will include stretching the laws on drugs as far as possible.
Wilf
Slouching towards Billingham
I really hope Farah's clean, though it's the difficulty of proving a negative - and the suspicion will carry on because of Salazar. We do need to acknowledge the balance of probabilities - but also that that's short of conclusive proof. In the gap between those 2 things, I suppose you either have a mindset of saying he's clean or you continue with the 'nagging doubt' line. Essentially it becomes a kind of personal choice. So, if I'm making any kind of point here, it's that drug cheats in athletics have poisoned our attitude towards sporting achievement, regardless of the specifics of this case.
By the by, what's the attitude to the accusations against Farah outside the UK? I'm assuming most serious UK athletics commentators/writers have a 'pro-Mo' line, but what about people who are a bit further away from the 'national hero' stuff? I'm really not insinuating anything, I just wonder what the wider judgement is on his record.
Sirena
Don't monkey with the buzzsaw
I think it is fair to say that UK athletes come under far greater scrutiny than (and I'm not trying to patronise) many in developing countries. Kenyan athletics, for example, came close to being banned in its entirety, like Russia, because the thing had gone out of control.
I am still of the opinion that rumours are not enough. Rumours are just gossip. Mo Farah is not being 'protected', because that is not how it works now
I am still of the opinion that rumours are not enough. Rumours are just gossip. Mo Farah is not being 'protected', because that is not how it works now
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
Yep. It's horrible. And I'm not accusing Farah here. I also really hope he's clean. But I'm also aware that I've been guilty of naivety in the past and am capable of it now as well, precisely because I want to believe people I like are clean.
Maggot
The Cake of Liberty
Not just developing countries. Spain has a history of doping (and covering up) as the Operation Puerto case proved.
Ted Striker
Foot's on the other hand
I've not been close to the Athletics scene of late, though heard murmurs of Mo getting arsey at the scrutiny he's under working with Salazar.
...And im really surprised - i don't think I've ever seen an athlete get such an easy ride from journalists as I have with Farah. There's THE juciest story to dig in to, with regards to him fucking off to the US for training with (what a dickhead Hack could make out to be runnings Michele Ferrari), and it's barely got a mention on BBC news. Weirdly, I don't think there's anything there, but at least you think there must be some twat journo who wants to be the next David Walsh and have a go at him. But no! There were rumours that Lineker was some sort of protected man amongst the tabloids (despite cheating on his missus whilst his kid had cancer). Maybe there's the same for Mo? /tinfoil
...And im really surprised - i don't think I've ever seen an athlete get such an easy ride from journalists as I have with Farah. There's THE juciest story to dig in to, with regards to him fucking off to the US for training with (what a dickhead Hack could make out to be runnings Michele Ferrari), and it's barely got a mention on BBC news. Weirdly, I don't think there's anything there, but at least you think there must be some twat journo who wants to be the next David Walsh and have a go at him. But no! There were rumours that Lineker was some sort of protected man amongst the tabloids (despite cheating on his missus whilst his kid had cancer). Maybe there's the same for Mo? /tinfoil
Last edited:
