A desperate race: The Zane Robertson EPO doping case and the unravelling of a dream
In the world of sports, where competition is fierce and the stakes are high, athletes often find themselves at a crossroads. For Zane Robertson, a two-time Olympian and New Zealand's record holder in the marathon, that crossroads led to a desperate decision—one that would unravel his career and cast a shadow over his legacy.
On 22 May 2022, after in-competition testing following the 10K event of the Great Race in Manchester1, Mr Robertson was charged with the presence and use of EPO, a prohibited substance. What makes the case unique is what occurred next: an attempt by Mr Robertson to cover-up the real reason for the presence of the EPO in his system (which he didn’t deny) by concocting a fake story about a misunderstanding during treatment for Covid-19 at a Kenyan hospital. Unfortunately for Mr Robertson, the story unravelled and he was left facing an additional charge of tampering with evidence (which he accepted), resulting in a total period of ineligibility of eight years, rather than just the four he faced for the presence of EPO.
This article analyses the New Zealand Sports Tribunal's decision (available here2) looking at:
- Zane Robertson's journey: from New Zealand to Kenya
- The Charges
- The tale of the purported EPO Covid-19 treatment in a Kenyan hospital
- Unravelling the story
- The decision
- The fallout and effects on Mr. Robertson and his brother
- Kenyan doping issues
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- Tags: Anti-Doping | Athletics | Drug Free Sport New Zealand | Kenya | New Zealand | U_K_ | WADA | World Anti-Doping Code
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Written by
Sam Fellows
Sam Fellows is a Sports Law and Governance Consultant and lectures Sports Law at the University of Waikato in addition to his day job of General Legal Counsel at Tauranga City Council. He has experience of defending doping proceedings before the New Zealand Sports Tribunal for athletes but had no involvement in this case.
