The fastest marathon runner in history has responded to doping allegations made by the German press. Patrick Makau, the world record holder in the marathon with a time of 2:03:38, did not explicitly deny using anabolic steroids, erythroipoietin (EPO) or any other performance-enhancing drug (PED). But Makau denied the specific allegations made by German journalist Hajo Seppel.
“The story falsely associates me with a particular retail store (located in the Hilton Hotel, Nairobi) and claims that I am a direct customer,” Makau said in a written statement. “This is not correct. I have never been on the premises. The only thing in that shop that suggests that I have anything to do with the store is an old national newspaper clipping with my photo, taped to the wall, together with many other clippings of other athletes’ races.”
Seppel never had any real evidence that Makau used PEDs. But the German journalist has been trying to bait Makau into a discussion of PEDs in sports every since he broadcasted his “investigative report” into doping in Kenya back in May 2012 on the German television station ARD. His most recent comments about Makau came only days before Makau was scheduled to return to Germany to compete in the 2012 Frankfurt Marathon.
Seppel only provided three pieces of “evidence” that attempted to cast doubt on Makau’s accomplishments.
The first was a confession by Kenyan track champion Matthew Kisorio. Kisorio tested positive for anabolic steroids during the 2012 Kenyan National Track and Field Championships. Kisorio told Seppel that he was not the only Kenyan distance runner using steroids. However, Kisorio did not provide any names of specific runners.
Secondly, Seppel also tried to link Makau to a health clinic run by a doctor who prescribed steroids and PEDs in Kapsabet.
And lastly, Seppel also attempted to link Makau to a supplement store (where EPO could be purchased) in Nairobi.
“What I can say is that – according to the owner of the store in Nairobi – Patrick Makau is one of the clients of the store in downtown Nairobi. But the guy who sold us the EPO claimed that Makau and other world-class runners only buy nutrition supplements there,” Seppelt told Athletics Illustrated.
Makau, in his statement, denied ever stepping into either the health clinic or the supplement store. But he did admit that he asked a friend to purchase WADA-compliant dietary supplements from the store on his behalf.
“For the sake of clarity, the shop located in the Hilton Hotel is, to the best of my knowledge, the only shop in Kenya which imported USN brand nutritional supplements (USN is a South African company with offices in Europe, including Germany and UK.)…” said Makau. “From time-to-time I have asked someone going into Nairobi to buy a Recovery Max for me. “
Makau was not distracted by Seppel’s doping accusations. The long-distance runner won the 2012 Frankfurt marathon in a time of 2:06:08 on October 29, 2012.
Photo credit: Christian Petersen-Clausen via Wikipedia
Source:
Mutuota, M. (October 29, 2012). Kenya: World Marathon Record Holder Slams Doping Clinics Link. Retrieved from http://allafrica.com/stories/201210290033.html
Xinhua. (October 26, 2012). German links Jelimo, Makau to doping clinics. Retrieved from http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/sports/2012/10/26/german-links-jelimo-makau-to-doping-clinics/
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