Busted!
“Don't think you're gonna win this time –
‘Cause you better believe I'm gonna drop a dime on you …
You're gonna be busted –
I don't wanna put the hurt on you –
But you better believe me when I tell you –
That I finally got the dirt on you -
You’re BUSTED!”
-
“Busted”, from Phineas and Ferb (video after post)
Two drug scandals – one large, the
other relatively small – converged on the sports page of our local newspaper on
the same day last week.
The primary headline was the one
everybody heard about: Lance Armstrong being officially charged with blood doping by the USADA. However, to
residents of Monterey County, the story that hit closest to home was news that
a winner of one of our premier local races has also proven to be a cheat.
In my mind, the impact of a drug scandal
on a small race with relatively anonymous runners was an interesting one to
consider; although the prize purses and sponsorship opportunities are
significantly less than those involved with marquis races, it’s easier to
identify with the people involved. For
example, the difference in prize money for each runner in the top ten at our
local event was several hundred dollars – and if I were the one who lost out on
that amount due to a dishonest runner, you can bet I’d be upset.
It was the smaller story that my friend
Mike and I wrote for the Monterey Herald; the article follows below.
**
Running Life 06/14/12 “Busted”
Like any other competitive activity, the sport of distance running
has an ugly side – and unfortunately, our local running community was recently
impacted by it.
Last fall’s Big Sur Half Marathon on Monterey Bay was one of the
most exciting races we’ve ever seen, with 23-year-old Ethiopian Ezkyas Sisay
outsprinting Josphat Boit of Kenya to win by less than 2 seconds. Sisay’s winning time of 63 minutes was even more
amazing when you consider that he finished 9th in the New York City Marathon (with
a time of 2:11) just two weeks before our half marathon. For his effort, Sisay was applauded by race
participants, recognized by the race’s Board of Directors, and awarded a winner’s
purse of $3,000.
 |
| Ezkyas Sisay at the 2011 BSIM Half-Marathon; photo from Monterey Herald |
In hindsight it appears that Sisay’s victory was too good to be
true: last week the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced that Sisay tested
positive for synthetic erythropoietin (EPO) after his drug test for the New
York Marathon. Coincidentally, two other
runners who train with Sisay have also tested positive for synthetic EPO use in
the past. Sisay now faces a two-year
suspension from competitive running as well as “forfeiture of medals, points,
and prizes.”
Erythropoietin is a natural hormone that controls red blood cell
creation. Increased EPO creates a higher red blood cell count, which improves
oxygen delivery to muscles and improves endurance. Synthetic EPO has a legitimate medical use
for treatment of anemia, but it’s also very popular among dishonest athletes
looking for a competitive advantage. Because synthetic EPO thickens the blood and
increases the risk of stroke, it’s a very dangerous game for athletes to play,
and its use is illegal in every sport.
The New York Marathon delays awarding prize money until drug test
results are published and verified, so they never paid Sisay his $2,000 for
finishing ninth. Sadly, smaller races
don’t have the resources to pay for drug testing, so they’re more vulnerable to
being taken advantage of by drug cheats.
Neither the Big Sur Marathon or Half Marathon performs testing, nor does
the Carlsbad Half Marathon, where Sisay won another $1500 last January.
Obvioiusly there are large monetary incentives for aspiring world-class
runners to enhance their performance by any means necessary, but this sort of
misbehavior typically ends in either shame or tragedy. Sisay didn’t just steal money from the Big
Sur Marathon board – an organization that has donated millions of dollars to
many well-deserving agencies in our community - but he cheated all of the
runners who deserved to finish one place higher in the race standings.
The Big Sur Half Marathon awarded money to the first nine runners,
all of whom rightfully deserved a larger prize.
For example Josphat Boit lost an extra $1200 by finishing in second
instead of first, and all of the top runners deserved several hundred more
dollars than they went home with.
The BSIM Board is doing the right thing by officially declaring
Josphat Boit to be the 2011 winner, and providing additional money to each of
the first 9 men based on moving them up one place in the standings. All future race promotions, programs, and result
listings will eliminate Sisay’s name.
As far as getting money back from Sisay, that’s a less certain
scenario. The race committee is following
USADA procedures and sending a letter to Sisay officially asking for
reimbursement of the $3,000. He’s not
forced to comply – but whether he does or doesn’t, there’s no escaping the
shame he has cast upon himself, and the stigma he has brought upon our entire
sport.
*
And if you’re wondering about the source of this song, it happens
to be from one my kids’ favorite TV shows.
OK ... make that one of my favorite shows as well.
“Busted”, from Phineas and
Ferb (click to play):
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