In 2019, Kenyan marathon runner Felix Kirwa was suspended for doping with the deadly toxin strychnine.
This year he won the Stockholm Marathon. But race director David Friedel did not know his story.
“But we’ve seen him free to compete, you might think that’s reasonable or unreasonable, but that’s how we treat it,” he says.
“A Potion of Strychnine” is the title of Agatha Christie’s first detective novel about Hercules Poirot from the 1920’s. The fast-acting poison strychnine, often used to kill rats and known for its toughness that occurs at unusual speed, has become the key to solving a common deck puzzle.
Most people know poison is deadly, which is why so many screamed when Kenyan Felix Kirwa was arrested for a doping test with rat poison in his blood. It was used for a very stimulating purpose at a very low dose. But according to experience, it was a matter of the dance of death.
– I haven’t heard of him in many years. And I must say that it is very stupid to use it. Doctor and Steroids Committee Chairman Aki Andreen Sandberg told Expressen at the time that strychnine was highly toxic.
“take me to bed”
Fast forward three years. Felix Kirwa won the Stockholm Marathon on 2.11.06 – despite a notorious mistake that cost him the record.
As an enabler, he still gets a record bonus of $5,000 plus the winning prize.
– It’s a clear feeling. It was we who made a mistake and he had a very nice race,” said Operations Director David Friedel after the race.
What Friedel doesn’t know, however, is that he pays the bonus and praises a runner who has previously been suspended from doping. When a week later Sportbladet put together our ironing puzzle and asked Friedel about the option of letting him run, he said:
– This is the first time I hear it, back there. You take me to bed.
“Hard Questions”
A moment later, Friedel returned after speaking to the head of the elite team, Ulf Saliti.
Basically, if you serve your sentence, you are free to compete. But just like the Bauhaus Gala and Sollentuna GP, we have avoided inviting racers who have been suspended for more than 12 months. In this case, about nine months passed, and then that control did not work. He says and continues:
– We’ve seen him free in competition, you might think it’s reasonable or unreasonable but that’s how we treat it.
How do you feel about not knowing and praising him during and after the race?
– I have to put up with it, I can’t answer if I had behaved the same way. These are generally difficult questions. We try to keep the line you described. But I, so responsible, should have had a better knowledge of him, even if he generally followed our principles, says David Friedel.