What a classic! Love it !
“For the people that don’t believe in triathlon, the cynics and the skeptics, I’m sorry for you, I’m sorry you can’t dream big."
I have never been a fan since seeing him bandit the Ho’ala. little things like that show your character, at least to me. He seems to be his own PR nightmare and if I were him I’d hire a crisis PR team now.
Would I be happy if this is true? No. Will it bring more legitimacy to our sport, I think so.
As for the people he calls out, good for them. The people named have a better reputation in the sport and would not just be sore losers. Also just because they asked doesn’t mean they get it. There has to be some “smokeâ€
He’s screwed. I do not believe his fellow pro competitors would call him out if there were not some truth to whatever the accusations are.
Why jump out in front of this and tell the world he is under investigation, if there is not, in fact, anything to investigate?
Is it not better to come from him than be leaked by someone in the next few weeks? I’m not sure how I would react to this in his shoes, but I can certainly understand why he would react in the way he has.
One would think an investigation wouldn’t be started just because somebody made an allegation. Or at least hope so. Best thing to do is just wait for details.
The ITA has limited resources. They aren’t spending time and money investigating something because Rudy’s parents are mad their son got beat. They have to have something to actually investigate. There were lots of legit questions that weren’t answered after the bizarre PTO situation. Hopefully he is cleared, but we need to see how this plays out. Attacking a bunch of other pros doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence…
Why jump out in front of this and tell the world he is under investigation, if there is not, in fact, anything to investigate?
Is it not better to come from him than be leaked by someone in the next few weeks? I’m not sure how I would react to this in his shoes, but I can certainly understand why he would react in the way he has.
Investigations are confidential, are they not? When is the last time you recall an investigation into doping being made public when the result is not a violation? How often does that happen?
Investigations are confidential, are they not? When is the last time you recall an investigation into doping being made public when the result is not a violation? How often does that happen?
Messick has said they’ve had multiple big name pros dead to rights and those cases will never see the light of day.
Hate to be that guy, but can you link to where Messi said this? I can see why the powers that be might force a “dead to rights” athlete to retire in a kind of plea agreement to avert litigation and expense for WADA bodies, but why else would they not see the light of day? Corruption?
Investigations are confidential, are they not? When is the last time you recall an investigation into doping being made public when the result is not a violation? How often does that happen? //
Yes usually, but keep in mind there are other parties involved here that are not bound by those rules. You think it was just Rudy and his family that know about this, that they didnt ask others for counsel and whether to do this or not? It was going to get out there one way or the other, and I agree, innocent or not, he should get out in front of it. Now how you do that is open for discussions, and he seems quite angry and is taking that route. Dont think that says anything about guilt either, I would be angry too. Just maybe take a breath first and figure out the best path forward, which he may also have done and this is his path…
Investigations are confidential, are they not? When is the last time you recall an investigation into doping being made public when the result is not a violation? How often does that happen?
Messick has said they’ve had multiple big name pros dead to rights and those cases will never see the light of day.
Hate to be that guy, but can you link to where Messi said this? I can see why the powers that be might force a “dead to rights” athlete to retire in a kind of plea agreement to avert litigation and expense for WADA bodies, but why else would they not see the light of day? Corruption?
https://www.triathlete.com/culture/news/andrew-messick-talks-retirement-split-world-champs-and-more/
Have you been frustrated in attempts to sanction high-profile athletes?
Absolutely, we have taken cases all the way to the court of arbitration for sport and lost, and these are people we believe we had cold. And those cases will never see the light of day. You will never know who those athletes are, and that is the right answer because ultimately you have to protect the rights of the athlete, and if you can’t prove it then tainting them by association is just wrong. And let me reinforce that is personally unsatisfying.
Why jump out in front of this and tell the world he is under investigation, if there is not, in fact, anything to investigate?
Is it not better to come from him than be leaked by someone in the next few weeks? I’m not sure how I would react to this in his shoes, but I can certainly understand why he would react in the way he has.
Investigations are confidential, are they not? When is the last time you recall an investigation into doping being made public when the result is not a violation? How often does that happen?
You are right, as far as I know, everything is confidential until the result is confirmed and then the athlete has a window to make a public statement before the anti-doping authority does. It certainly begs the question of why he would respond like this at this stage. In all of the high profile cases over the years I can’t remember an early leak coming out so that’s not a good reason. Even if his adversaries are spreading rumours, that is nothing new in the sport and not a great reason to go public about the investigation either. The simplest explanation may be that he is preparing the narrative unfortunately-of course I won’t assume that without evidence.
Why jump out in front of this and tell the world he is under investigation, if there is not, in fact, anything to investigate?
Is it not better to come from him than be leaked by someone in the next few weeks? I’m not sure how I would react to this in his shoes, but I can certainly understand why he would react in the way he has.
Investigations are confidential, are they not? When is the last time you recall an investigation into doping being made public when the result is not a violation? How often does that happen?
You are right, as far as I know, everything is confidential until the result is confirmed and then the athlete has a window to make a public statement before the anti-doping authority does. It certainly begs the question of why he would respond like this at this stage. In all of the high profile cases over the years I can’t remember an early leak coming out so that’s not a good reason. Even if his adversaries are spreading rumours, that is nothing new in the sport and not a great reason to go public about the investigation either. The simplest explanation may be that he is preparing the narrative unfortunately-of course I won’t assume that without evidence.
That was the only explanation I could come up with, just wanted someone else to say it.
I want to believe in Sam, but do investigations happen off of pure rumors? I’d imagine Jan had rumors all the time…never saw this.
I have never been a fan since seeing him bandit the Ho’ala. little things like that show your character, at least to me. He seems to be his own PR nightmare and if I were him I’d hire a crisis PR team now.
Would I be happy if this is true? No. Will it bring more legitimacy to our sport, I think so.
As for the people he calls out, good for them. The people named have a better reputation in the sport and would not just be sore losers. Also just because they asked doesn’t mean they get it. There has to be some “smokeâ€
As someone who recently did the Ho’ala swim (absolutely loved it!!!) I find that really disappointing. Surely, I’m not saying he cheated because he was a bandit for this swim. But like you said, it does say something about his character. And it’s not the behavior I’d expect from a professional athlete.
I find this whole issue so disappointing. I really hope no one was cheating/doping.
Why jump out in front of this and tell the world he is under investigation, if there is not, in fact, anything to investigate?
Is it not better to come from him than be leaked by someone in the next few weeks? I’m not sure how I would react to this in his shoes, but I can certainly understand why he would react in the way he has.
Investigations are confidential, are they not? When is the last time you recall an investigation into doping being made public when the result is not a violation? How often does that happen?
You are right, as far as I know, everything is confidential until the result is confirmed and then the athlete has a window to make a public statement before the anti-doping authority does. It certainly begs the question of why he would respond like this at this stage. In all of the high profile cases over the years I can’t remember an early leak coming out so that’s not a good reason. Even if his adversaries are spreading rumours, that is nothing new in the sport and not a great reason to go public about the investigation either. The simplest explanation may be that he is preparing the narrative unfortunately-of course I won’t assume that without evidence.
That was the only explanation I could come up with, just wanted someone else to say it.
Oof I tend to agree. But we do have to remember he’s 24 and clearly doesn’t have a PR person so may just be making rash decisions. At least cycling teams usually have some PR training for their up and coming athletes that may be in similar situations. Triathletes are really on their own and may not know how to handle these types of situations.
Not only did he bandit it, he came in 1st and ran on the beach to the finish to claim victory until someone stopped him.
I want to believe in Sam, but do investigations happen off of pure rumors? I’d imagine Jan had rumors all the time…never saw this.
You never saw this investigation (if it ever occurred) because it would be confidential in the extremely likely event that the violation cannot be proven
As someone who works in PR….starting to wonder if the release of his documentary was timed in anticipation of this, get some good press, love for his family etc. before this drops….i still want to believe in him, probably because of that documentary!
The best defense is going on the offense. Sounds very Lance ish…
I was surprised he didn’t close out with “I’m sorry you don’t believe in miracles”
Not a good look and not a good way to handle this.
Why??? Should he just sit there, allow people to accuse him of something that can destroy his career?
Not only did he bandit it, he came in 1st and ran on the beach to the finish to claim victory until someone stopped him.
Yikes…
That’s not classy at all.
It was a really well-run event and cost under $40 when I registered. But regardless of costs, it’s not cool to bandit the Ho’ala swim (or any race for that matter)