He himself was once a world-class middle-distance runner with a 1,500-meter best time of 3:35.99 minutes. During his active career, he made 15 international appearances for France and reached the semi-finals at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg (Sweden).
The two met during an altitude training camp in Font-Romeu in the French Pyrenees. The Benfares family live in France in the small village of Thomery near Fontaineblau, close to Paris.
I was just discussing with some people here ... people that immigrate to Europe are mostly poor and generally with a high rate of poor culture. Add to that the difference of wealth between the North and the Sud and you get the first hints of why all this is happening to first and second immigrant generation.
I was just discussing with some people here ... people that immigrate to Europe are mostly poor and generally with a high rate of poor culture. Add to that the difference of wealth between the North and the Sud and you get the first hints of why all this is happening to first and second immigrant generation.
I was just discussing with some people here ... people that immigrate to Europe are mostly poor and generally with a high rate of poor culture. Add to that the difference of wealth between the North and the Sud and you get the first hints of why all this is happening to first and second immigrant generation.
I don’t believe that there is really an excuse for cheating that “makes it ok”. As humans, we all have our character flaws and temptations. Sone judgements in error are just more public than others.
OK, father is a former French runner, mom is German (4:21 PR for the 1500). Thus dual citizenship. They girls ran for France in their youth and now for Germany.
Seems like testing has really become more effective the last year or two. I’ve been frequenting this site 10 years or so and a bust used to be a yearly or twice a year thing. Now it seems like there’s a new one every week
It's more likely that athletes are getting careless and/or don't know how to game the system. It'll be interesting to see how this is handled considering doping is a criminal offense in Germany. We might actually get the full story if jail time is a possibility.
Morocco's got a very poor doping record. Germany had state-sponsored doping on both East and West sides through 1990 where children from age 12 were being doped by the state.
Heidi Krieger is eleven when she discovers a fun pastime: athletics. Things like that don’t go unnoticed in 70s East Germany. A selection and training system refined to perfection monitors school children to determine who’s g...
"West Germany, too, had its doping policy – although it didn’t have an official name, and there weren’t any specific plans. And West Germany, too, collectively denied it – although here the denial lasted much longer: until August 2013. It was then Humboldt Universität Berlin published research that ended the long-cherished illusion that only the east was guilty of structural doping abuse. The study revealed that doping use was structural and widespread in the former FRG between 1970 and 1990 just as well, and that doping was provided for FRG minors as well. West German politicians knew and sometimes even encouraged it. Striking detail: the study had been completed months prior, but the Department of the Interior only published a censored version after excerpts had leaked to the press. In the report the department disclosed, names of politicians were removed, because some of them were believed to be still in office at the time. The study showed that the West German government spent an estimated ten million DM on 516 scientific studies into the performance-enhancing qualities of anabolic steroids, testosterone, and EPO. Coaches pressured athletes to take the drugs: whoever refused was denied important competitions. The side effects these studies showed were never mentioned. In turn, coaches and sports doctors were pressured by politicians with overly-ambitious objectives. People gladly looked the other way at official doping controls."
Bone cancer is fatal in 30% or more of cases. If one of them truly has bone cancer, then following doping rules is the least of her worries. But surely they don't both have it, so it makes no sense that this would be the reason.
To me this is one of the more distressing stories I've read in the running community. Young women doping, implied involvement of parent/coach, so far unsubstaniated excuse (and a real ugly one to boot if false). Bad in every way.
Since it’s going through the German legal system and AIU getting involved, I’m interested to see if they can produce medical records confirming the bone cancer diagnoses for the older sister. Reading various translated articles, the whole thing screams scandal and just bizarre. Even that social media post of Sara Benfares in crutches seems overly performative and vague.
There must have been around a dozen distance running busts in Europe in the last few years, and nearly every one has been to an African descent runner. The only exception I can think of is the French woman marathoner. But if I remember correctly, even in that case she had a Moroccan husband and got the peds in Morocco.
There must have been around a dozen distance running busts in Europe in the last few years, and nearly every one has been to an African descent runner. The only exception I can think of is the French woman marathoner. But if I remember correctly, even in that case she had a Moroccan husband and got the peds in Morocco.
You clearly missed the whole Allie O situation where it was clearly established here that if you are white and test positive for a masking agent it's not "real" doping.
1995 World Gothenburg 1500m Men Heat 1For further videos, a modern history of track & field, sort, filter and search options see the website http://www.athle...
To me this is one of the more distressing stories I've read in the running community. Young women doping, implied involvement of parent/coach, so far unsubstaniated excuse (and a real ugly one to boot if false). Bad in every way.
It's a means to an end game for them. Athletics make a pretty decent living in Europe and well respected. Even T&F ones. Sure beats working for a living.
I've forgotten his name but the 1500m guy of about 4 to 10 years ago who was always there or thereabouts at big 1500m races, very rarely won and didn't do scary times, Tactically was very astute. It's reasonable to accept that someone can do 3.31 without cheating, especially as a Brit in 2023/24, as I am (a Brit, not a 3.31 1500m guy)
Also El Bakkali - because I think he must be tested incredibly frequently, now for some years.
I've forgotten his name but the 1500m guy of about 4 to 10 years ago who was always there or thereabouts at big 1500m races, very rarely won and didn't do scary times, Tactically was very astute. It's reasonable to accept that someone can do 3.31 without cheating, especially as a Brit in 2023/24, as I am (a Brit, not a 3.31 1500m guy)
Also El Bakkali - because I think he must be tested incredibly frequently, now for some years.
I bet you're thinking of Iguider, I remember him always being around in global finals and getting the occasional medal.
This is nonsense. There is a conspiracy in World Athletics led by Coevett to lie and lie and lie that North Africans do not have special adaptations. These kids were raised by a Moroccan father in Paris, and now they are running faster than blonde Germans and proof of African genetics, so the liar Coevett must have tampered with their test samples!!
How many time you need to understand CoEvett that all children of this evil life are the same and that's the distribution of wealth in Earth that is behind all issues.
By the way do you think that someone become wealthy without the depend and exploitation of others? impossible.
Samir Benfaress is almost certainly un
"Fils d'immigrés Algériens ..."
and as he say
"Je suis un fils d'immigrés et un fils de la république"
a Moroccan would never say that.
He represented France at Göteborg 1995, the time when Morceli was shinning. You can see the link.
But that is not important.
What is important is to clean the evil that is inside of us, making us hating at each other.
