Zane Robertson celebrates after winning bronze in the men's 5000m at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Photo / Getty Images
Zane Robertson celebrates after winning bronze in the men's 5000m at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Photo / Getty Images
New Zealand long-distance runner Zane Robertson has admitted to cheating after he was yesterday suspended for doping.
The Commonwealth Games medallist and Olympian was suspended by the Sports Tribunal for eight years after a prohibited substance was found in his system. He also tampered, or tried to tamper, with part of the doping control process, the Sports Tribunal announced.
The Tribunal banned him for four years for the presence and use or attempted use of the prohibited substance Erythropoietin (EPO) and another four for tampering.
Speaking on the podcast Runner’s Only with Dom Harvey, Robertson opened up about why he decided to cheat, claiming it was a “one-off”.
“It’s been a pretty depressing and devastating day for me,” he said on the podcast.
“There’s many reasons and it’s just not one particular reason. I hate it so much that it’s just a one-off hit and I got caught. It’s been building on me for a few years. Frustration and anger at the sport itself and any elite sports, I just believe it’s not a level playing field like they say.
“I started to ask myself this question: why do people like myself always have to be the ones to lose or suffer. In the end, lose our contracts, lose our income, lose our race winnings, and eventually give up not having the ability to have a family ... that was one reason.”
He added that personal and professional troubles — including a “nasty divorce” — also drove him towards doping.
“The other [reason], especially after the Covid era, prize money and races went down. Contracts were almost dropped as well. After the Olympics I was told by one of my companies we thought you would run better, and an immediate exit from the deal.
“Nothing was seeming to go my way. I had a lot of background noise away from the running year as well ... I spent a lot of my life savings just trying to survive. I was providing for myself and my wife at the time ... we already knew we were going to go through a divorce period. It was a nasty divorce proceeding.
“Some things led to another and a lot of stress was placed on me. I made some bad decisions in a really dark time.”
Zane Robertson. Photo / Greg Bowker
The 33-year-old said his attempt to cover up the result during the doping process, which added another four years to his suspension, was his last-ditch attempt to save his career.
“I want to take full blame for that as well. That was my idea. To me four years is the same as eight. It’s the end of my career. There’s no coming back from this and I knew. I was just trying to save my arse.”
He said EPO “helps the red blood cells to develop more in the body”.
“That produces more oxygen to be pushed around the body, so you can run faster for longer without feeling it.”
Robertson, who lives in Kenya, said because EPO is something the body produces naturally it is difficult to detect, adding that the drug was “a culture of the sport”.
“I can’t say too much because of my situation and where I live ... It’s a culture of the sport, that’s it.”
Asked why the public should believe him when he says it was a “one off”, Robertson replied: “I have been tested over 50 times in my career and after every single race that I’ve ever competed well in. I’ve been tested before the races, after the races, and my samples are stored for the next 10 years after the events ... There’s been no problems with my past samples.”
Robertson won bronze in the 5000m at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, then finished 12th in the 10,000m at the Olympics two years later.
Known for training in Kenya with his twin brother Jake, he moved up to the marathon distance, finishing 36th at the Tokyo Olympics.
“My brother is a little bit pissed off,” Robertson admitted. “That was the worst thing for me because I knew it wouldn’t just be affecting me. It will affect him and my sister-in-law, his wife, because they are both athletes and I don’t know how to help.”
Robertson also apologised to his fans and the young supporters who looked up to him in New Zealand.
“I definitely would tell them I’m really sorry that I let them all down. I just want to tell them that this wasn’t my whole career. I always wanted to do my best for everyone who looked up to me in such a way. I’m sorry.”
