Doping deadline looms for Willis golden upgrade
Athletics A period of 107 days sit between Nick Willis having a chance at becoming a 2008 Olympic gold medallist, or settling forever on silver.
Asbel Kiprop, the Kenyan who beat him in the 1500m at the Beijing Games, has confirmed he recently failed an out-of-competition doping test for a banned substance, although the 28-year-old alleges officials who collected his sample extorted money from him and tainted his urine sample.
If Kiprop’s claims prove false, any ban is only likely to backdate a couple of years, but it would raise a question: how long had he doped?
Kiprop was promoted to Olympic gold in 2008 after a positive doping test saw original winner Rashid Ramzi disqualified the following year.
Add in the fact the World AntiDoping Agency revised its code in 2015 to extend the statute of limitations for retesting from eight to Nick Willis received his belated silver medal from the
2008 Beijing Olympics in Wellington in
2011. 10 years. The Beijing Olympics were held in August 2008.
The Weekend Herald understands Kiprop’s sample sits in a Beijing Games batch within a Lausanne laboratory. It would need re-testing before August 19 this year, a decade after the 1500m final. Otherwise becomes legally unusable.
Unless urgent action takes place, Willis’ chances of joining Jack Lovelock, Sir Peter Snell and Sir John Walker as New Zealand’s fourth Olympic 1500m champion appear limited, at least officially.
In a statement released via his lawyer, Kiprop claimed he wired funds to one of the doping control officers by mobile phone while they were still in his house in Iten, Kenya, last November. He learned the sample was positive in February.
“I remain perplexed on how my innocent sample could turn positive on the only time when money was extorted from me,” he said.
“It is not beyond my suspicion that my sample turned positive because I might have remitted less money than it was expected to remit.”
Kiprop’s statement did not specify what substance he tested positive for, but suggested it might be the bloodboosting hormone EPO.
“I am told EPO is put into the body using injection,” he said. “The last time I had an injection was in 2014 when I was given a yellow fever vaccination before travelling to Bahamas for a competition.”
Kiprop’s failed test deals another blow to Kenya’s middle and longdistance running reputation. Dozens of his compatriots have tested positive for an array of banned substances in recent years.
Willis described any potential upgrade to a gold medal as a “moot point” when interviewed yesterday by the Herald.
The 35-year-old said that having already endured the Ramzi saga, he preferred to reflect on the joy taken from an elite running career spanning most of this century. However, he said it was “very important” justice was served for any doping violations.
“The public and fans have every right to assume a high percentage of everyone is on it [banned substances]. I don’t judge anyone for casting doubt on anyone in races, including me, because that’s how poor our sport has done the job at keeping clean. That’s the most frustrating part.
“The most important thing is for them not to be afraid to bring down the biggest names, if and when they cheat. They’ve got to be prepared to take a blow to the image of the sport — not that it could be any lower — so it can be rebuilt.”
gaps in a short time in the sport, so best have the planning bedded in with plenty of time to spare.
“It can happen but it’s hard to do that. Certain things start to get real when you’re six months out [from an Olympics], so we’ve got a slightly broader approach than [we will have] in two years,” he said.
So if you’re one of the younger quartet — Kim Thompson, Britney Ford, Rebecca Cole and Danielle Watson — this is a good year to clear the throat and make sure their performances catch Walker’s eye.
“We will be trying a few different things with different combinations and giving everybody a chance to get some exposure to international competition and learn from each other,” he said.
“This is a great opportunity for them all to learn from each other and we’re trying to make sure we provide the environment where everybody can get that to build the team we need when it comes to Tokyo.”
Walker’s philosophy is easy to follow.
“When it matters will be more so the world champs than the World Cups, and more so the Olympics than the world champs.”
Expect to see a range of K2 and K4 groups at the Cup regattas as part of an overarching strategy of “keeping an open mind so we have the best athletes in the right boats at the right time”.
Depth is being developed in the women’s programme. Carrington’s success has helped turn younger women’s heads on to the sport, and it only needs a couple of world class athletes to inspire those coming up to strive for the top.
“It’s encouraging to see that depth growing all round. We’ve got some real young athletes, 18 year olds, then 22 and 25 year olds. We do work pretty hard to make sure we keep that going, providing a pathway for all athletes,” Walker said.
Look no further than seven-time world champion Carrington.
“It’s amazing what good can happen when you start to get that momentum from two or three people. Then all of a sudden, sports start to flourish.”