http://afkinsider.com/131409/coach-arrest-will-not-distract-ethiopias-dibaba-gunning-gold/
Rio Olympics: Ethiopia’s Dibaba Says She’s ‘Crystal Clean’ After Coach Arrest
By Kevin Mwanza Published: August 17, 2016, 8:45 am
Genzebe Dibaba, the world record holder and reigning world champion in
the Women’s 1,500 meters is facing doping allegations days after she
lost her Olympic crown to Faith Kipyegon of Kenya in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil.
Speaking to journalists after the final, Dibaba reiterated that she
was clean after her coach, Jama Aden a Somali national was arrested in
June in Spain on allegations of selling banned substances to athletes.
“I am completely and crystal clean from doping,” Dibaba told AP,
adding that the allegations psychologically affected her before the
final.
Jama was released three days later but has since been unable to leave
the European nation and did not accompany the Ethiopian for the Rio
Olympics Games that started on August 5, in Brazil.
Since his arrest, doping suspicion has spread to athletes under Jama’s watch.
The middle-distance race has had past incidents of doping by competitors.
During the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Britain, six of the eight top
finishers faced allegations of using performance enhancing drugs, ESPN
reported.
Four of them were banned including Asli Cakir Alptekin who won the
final. She relinquished her gold medal in August 2015 after receiving
a career-ending suspension.
The others were Gamze Bulut of Turkey, the silver medallist and
Russians Ekatrina Kostetskaya and Natalia Kareiva.
In March, Abeba Argawi Gebretsadik an Ethiopian-born Swedish athlete
and former world champion in the same distance voluntarily agreed to a
suspension after failing a drug test in Addis Ababa in January.
Speaking through an interpreter, Dibaba said that she has been tested
at least four times and has never failed the drug checks.
Dibaba added that she will stand by Jama if he is cleared by investigations.
In a similar move, reigning World and former Olympic champion in the
men’s race Asbel Kiprop of Kenya defended his agent, Federico Rosa
after he was charged in court for supplying banned substances to
athletes under his stable, in July.
The claims against Dibaba and her coach came days after two Team Kenya
officials were sent home from the Olympic Village on doping and
bribery allegations.
The two, John Anzrah a sprints coach and Michael Rotich, the team
manager have already been charged in court as investigations continue.
The three incidents at the Rio Olympics have drawn global attention on
two of the dominant middle and long-distance running nations, Kenya
and Ethiopia.
However, none of their athletes has failed the random doping tests
even as suspicion keeps mounting.
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Received on Sat Aug 20 2016 - 09:25:27 EDT