German Television Station ARD Leads the Way in Promoting Hysteria Over Steroids in Sport
07.08.2015

German Television Station ARD Leads the Way in Promoting Hysteria Over Steroids in Sport

The German television station ARD has established itself as the news media’s leading promoter of hysteria over anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in sport. Its documentaries have made sensationalistic and exaggerated claims about the extent of doping problems faced by various countries and sports organizations. In the past few years alone, ARD has targeted organized doping in Kenyan endurance athletes, corruption and systematic doping by the Russian government and the cover up of suspicious blood tests by the International Associations of Athletic Federations (IAAF).

In August 2012, ARD released a documentary that alleged several Kenyan Olympic gold medalists and marathon world record holders used prohibited performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). ARD journalist Hajo Seppelt went undercover and found a top Kenyan sports medicine doctor who allegedly provided several doping-related services to Kenyan athletes. These services included the acquisition of steroids, human growth hormone (hGH), EPO, assistance with blood doping and blood and urine monitoring to ensure that his clients never failed a drug test. One of his top clients was reported to be the women’s 2008 Beijing Olympic 800-meter gold medalist Pamela Jelimo.

Seppelt also found a “health food store” owner who claimed to have sold EPO to the 2011 Berin Marathon winner and former marathon world record holder Patrick Makau.

The Kenyan athletics chairman refuted ARD’s allegations and maintained that Kenyan athletes were “very clean”.

Then in December 2014, ARD collaborated with L’Equipe in Paris to release an investigative report that accused Russia of corruption and systematic doping by elite athletes in several sports. Several Russian government entities were allegedly involved. They included the Russian Athletic Federation, Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) and the WADA-accredited Anti-Doping Center Moscow. The director of the Anti-Doping Center Moscow was even accused of selling steroids to athletes and covering up any positive test results.

As part of the documentary investigation, ARD profiled women’s marathon runner Liliya Shobukhova. Russian officials allegedly extorted $550,000 from Shobukhova. In exchange, Shobukhova was allowed to compete in the 2012 Olympics. And most importantly, anti-doping officials would cover up any positive drug test that may pop up.

However, the Russian Athletic Federation reneged on the extortion agreement and suspended Shobukhova for two years after her Athlete Biological Passport results were found to be consistent with blood doping. This prompted Shobukhova and her husband to expose the extortion plot to ARD journalists.

To support its allegations of Russian corruption, ARD broadcast undercover video allegedly showing 2012 Olympic 800-meter gold medalist Maria Savinova confessing to the use of stanozolol (aka Winstrol).

Former RUSADA official Vitaly Stepanov claimed Anti-Doping Center Moscow director Grigory Rodchenkov sold PEDSs to athletes and falsifyied anti-doping test results in exchange for cash payment.

Former Russian track athlete Yulia Stepanova claimed RAF medical department director Sergei Portugalov sold steroids to athletes in exchnage for 5% of their earnings and arranged for other individuals to stand in for them to provide clean urine and blood samples for anti-doping collectors.

Russian officials denied any wrongdoing.

And most recently in August 2015, ARD collaborated with The Sunday Times of London to expose what it claimed were suspicious blood test results that were overlooked and covered up by the IAAF, the international governing body for track and field. The claims were based on a review of over 12,000 anti-doping test results obtained from the leaked confidential records of almost 5,000 athletes.

The results were reviewed by anti-doping advocates Michael Ashenden and Robin Parisotto. ARD made the bold assertion that as many as one third of medalists had suspicious blood test results at the international championships and the Olympics between 2001 and 2012. This included at least 55 gold medal winners according to ARD.

ARD’s sensationalistic “journalism” did not go without a strong response from the IAAF. The IAAF criticized ARD for publishing a sensationalistic and confusing interpretation of the data. The fact of the matter, according the IAAF, was that all of the so-called suspicious blood tests identified by ARD did not meet the criteria for an adverse analytical positive. Consequently, the tests were not positive under existing anti-doping rules and the athletes were not considered in violation.

“The published allegations were sensationalist and confusing. The results referred to were not positive tests,” IAAF said in a statement. “In fact, ARD and The Sunday Times both admit that their evaluation of the data did not prove doping.”

Each and every time ARD releases a new doping documentary, it certainly gives anti-doping crusaders an opportunity to bemoan the scourge of doping in sport and demand increased funding for anti-doping organizations. They just can’t wait until the release of the next ARD anti-doping “investigation”.

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