February 14, 2006

Robel Vindicated

This is an update by Yoseph Teklemariam on the case of Ethiopia’s first winter Olympian Robel Teklemariam. I am happy to learn that his suspension has been a mistake and that he is ready to take on the world. We are already proud!
yekolotemari
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i am happy to report to one and all that read this blog message board, that my very dedicated and ethiopia-loving brother robel did nothing wrong and has been cleared of the tests administered last week in torino. in fact, all of twelve of the cross-country skiers and dozens more were cleared of any wrong-doing. our family has been in contact with robel every day that he's been in italy. colorado is in fact known as the mile-high state, where he spent several weeks training prior to traveling to italy, and where the cross-country races are taking place in italy (pragelato) are at about the same high level altitude. also, what the IOC consider high is a count of 17, and robel was tested as having 17.2. from the beginning it was a matter of health precautions, and the media and misinformation allowed the talks of EPO and so on to get in the mix.....enough said, robel will be competing this friday at pragelato for the 15km classical! :-) as robel said to us, he was more concerned about the many racers missing their competitions that they trained for the past four years plus over the past weekend and stayed in high spirits since the opening ceremony and even after hearing of the bans, which he learned first from media associates before IOC officials. the Ethiopian Olympic Committee members that have travelled to torino have been nothing but supportive of him and assured robel of a fan base from ethiopia to represent him proudly as he races on friday. we thank you all for the support and encouragement that you've shared. much love and respect
 
~yoseph teklemariam
 

TURIN (Reuters) - Ethiopia's Robel Teklemariam will be allowed to race in the Winter Olympics having been cleared after a five-day suspension for an abnormally high red blood cell count, the International Ski Federation said on Wednesday.

Posted by yekolotemari at 12:30:37 | Permanent Link | Comments (12) |
Comments
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1 - WONDERFUL NEWS!!

I HAD NO DOUBT THAT HE WOULD BE CLEARED. WE ARE ALL BEHIND HIM AND THIS LITTLE MISINFORMATION WON'T SPOIL OUR GREAT PRIDE AND SUPPORT FOR HIM.
 (Comment this)

Written by: Anonymous at 2006/02/14 - 14:40:55
2 - Yosef, how about publishing this great news on the ENSF web site? The media doesn't seem to be reporting this news at all (no surprises there) and I'm afraid an anonymous comment on a blog doesn't count as a credible source. We simply need this news confirmed via a more official channel, like ENSF. Thanks! (Comment this)

Written by: Yonas at 2006/02/15 - 11:47:23
3 - Yekolo,

Check out these links.

http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/author/owukori/

http://www.wkowtv.com/index.php/sports/headlines#videowindow (Comment this)

Written by: Anonymous at 2006/02/15 - 21:14:30
4 - Thanks anonymous.

I beleive the second article you were refering to is
http://www.wkowtv.com/index.php/sports/story/p/pkid/23233 (Comment this)

Written by: yekolotemari at 2006/02/15 - 21:27:55
5 - GO ROBEL!! I am so glad he is cleared. I wish him the GOLD! As for us we are already proud so whether he gets a medal or not he is already Ethiopia's GOLD medal! (Comment this)

Written by: mesobo at 2006/02/16 - 13:36:45
6 - Robel wanted to inspire Ethiopians-- and he has certainly accomplished that task. I am a competitive swimmer- and I hardly meet any other black swimmers in all my 10 years of swimming-- I know how he feels. I know what it is like to feel outnumbered- but he has earned his place among the other competitors and his name will always be remembered. He is certainly one of the most amazing people I have ever seen. (Comment this)

Written by: Haben at 2006/02/23 - 01:29:29
7 - Haben,
If you like to write about your experiences, email us. (Comment this)

Written by: yekolotemari at 2006/02/23 - 01:44:31
8 - Haben,
If you like to write about your experiences, email us. (Comment this)

Written by: yekolotemari at 2006/02/23 - 01:44:41
9 - Just wanted to say I am rooting for Robel, I actually had the pleasure of meeting him early January when he stayed at the establishment that I work for here in lovely Bozeman, MT!! He was super cool and I'm very excited for him. Go robel!!!!! (Comment this)

Written by: Shannon at 2006/02/25 - 04:10:47
10 - Hi there,

I went to CRMS with Robel, and I was so thrilled for him! I have been following whats been going on in Turin, and I am so happy for him!!! This is so exciting!!

All the best,

Ridzie Price (Comment this)

Written by: Ridzie Price at 2006/02/25 - 15:10:56
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