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Doping Suspension Rocks Triathlon World
Why Collin Chartier recived a 3-year doping ban, and what is the best carb to start your day with?

Good morning everyone,
I hope you had a great weekend training, racing, or just relaxing. Yesterday was a pretty big news day within Triathlon, and not in a good way. An up-and-coming athlete, who I’ve raced in the past, was caught taking a banned substance and suspended. The news hit me hard, and I had a hard time focusing on getting this edition done. But we need to keep fighting, and I need to keep writing.
In today’s edition:
A breakdown of the Collin Chartier doping sanction 💉
The rundown from a big weekend of racing 🏁
And what’s the best carb to start your day with? 🧁
Thank you for being here.
-Matt Sharpe, newsletter editor

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QUICK NEWS
🌽 TriHusker: USA Triathlon has announced that Omaha, Nebraska will host the 2024 and 2025 USA Triathlon Multisport National Championship Festival. The 2024 edition will be held June 5-9, 2024 at Lake Cunningham. [USA Triathlon]
🥖 L’Ironman: L'Équipe, the French broadcasting giant, has acquired the Ironman broadcast rights for France and will show the leading Ironman events including the Men’s Ironman World Championships in Nice en francais. [SportBusiness.com]
🌲 Qualicum Beach tri: Registration is now open for the 24th edition of the Qualicum Beach Triathlon. The modified sprint distance event also offers a duathlon and kids’ races. The Tempo founders raced this event as kids for years, and it’s always a fun time with the family! [Parksville-Qualicum Beach News]
🥈 Jetze go: Paralympic triathlon gold-medalist Jetze Plat (NED) proved that he’s not just an incredible multisporter, but he can do individual ones pretty damn well. Plat finished second overall in this past weekend’s London Marathon. [TRI247]
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ONE BIG THING
Collin Chartier: Ironman Champion, PTO US Open Winner, Convicted Doper

PTO
The International Testing Agency announced yesterday that triathlete Collin Chartier (USA) accepted a 3-year anti-doping ban from a drug testing sample collected out of competition on February 10th, 2023.
Chartier tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO). EPO helps increase red blood cells in the body by improving endurance and is on the World Anti-Doping Agency banned substance list.
Chartier would have received a longer four-year ban. However, due to his early admission of guilt, he was entitled to a one-year deduction.
Although Chartier had achieved podiums in Ironman events, it was only in 2022 when he won Ironman Mt. Tremblant and then took the win at the Professional Triathletes Organization (PTO) U.S. Open that he established himself as an emerging top-tier athlete.
According to Chartier, after a difficult period of injury, illness, along with “feelings of intense pressure and expectations to win the biggest races,” led him to begin taking EPO.
In his statement, Chartier says he will fully move on from the sport.
Chartier’s positive test has rocked the pro triathlon ranks with many commentators questioning whether his former coach was involved — he has denied it — and whether it is only the tip of the iceberg.
Many pros have expressed their disappointment and frustration:
“The news that Collin Chartier willingly and knowingly took EPO to improve his performance is an absolute disgrace…You are sorry? Sorry now that you got caught? If you are really sorry, and you want my forgiveness, earn it and prove it: give back stolen prize money and sponsorship dollars, contact fellow athletes with personal apologies” - Ironman champion, Ben Hoffman
Tempo’s take (editor, Matt Sharpe): In all honesty this news has been challenging to process. It is naïve to think that no one is out there trying to cheat the system, but when something like this happens, it just sows a lot of doubt. The overwhelming feeling of betrayal is hard to shake.
On the one hand, it shows that the anti-doping system is working. Collin has been caught and deserves to face the full punishment. On the other hand, we do have to recognize there is a human element to this. Personally, I do hope Collin is able to get help, learn from this mistake, and help the sport improve as a result.
It’s a sad day for the sport, but better days are ahead. And that’s always worth fighting for.
Is doping more widespread in triathlon than we want to think? Does this news put a cloud over elite and age-group racing? Let us know your thoughts by replying to this email.
WEEKEND RACES
Texas-Sized Race Weekend

Donald Miralle/Ironman
Ironman Texas, USA - The America’s Championship
Women’s race: Kat Matthews continued her incredible comeback after a devastating car crash in 2022 that almost killed her. Her 2:49 marathon helped her take the win in The Woodlands.
🥇 Kat Matthews (GBR)
🥈 Maja Stage Nielsen (DEN)
🥉 Jocelyn McCauley (USA)
Watch: Kat Matthews enjoys the final push at IM Texas.
Men’s race: Rudy Von Berg (USA), Robert Wilkowiecki (POL), and Matthew Marquardt (USA) swam, biked, and pretty much ran together for most of the race. It was an incredibly close finish with a 21-second spread between podium members.
Watch: Von Berg kicks it into overdrive in the final stretch of IM Texas.
🥇 Rudy Von Berg (USA)
🥈 Robert Wilkowiecki (POL)
🥉 Matthew Marquardt (USA)
Important to note: pre-race favourite Matt Hanson (USA) and Tempo subscriber, Allie Estevez, were both taken out by other athletes on the bike. It’s not always a perfect day out there, and we wish them both the best in their recoveries.
Challenge Gran Canaria, Spain
Sam Laidlow (FRA) proved that his second place in Kona last year wasn’t a fluke, taking the win against a strong field. At the same time, Anne Haug (GER) continued her excellent start to the season with another convincing win.
Ironman 70.3 Peru
Pamela Oliveira (BRA) took the convincing win, while Tim O’Donnell (USA) broke the tape for the first time in years.
Infinitri Half Peñíscola, Spain
Emilie Morier (FRA) was able to best PTO ranked #1 athlete Ashleigh Gentle, while Pierre Le Corre made it a French-winning sweep.
Challenge Taiwan
Caleb Noble (AUS) and Amelia Watkinson (NZL) cruised to victory in Taiwan.
LOL
Triathletes aren’t always known to be the quickest on their feet. But Tempo subscriber Brian Duffy did his best to prove the doubters wrong…. Watch as Brian takes on “The Freeze” in front of 41,000 fans at Truist stadium in Atlanta!
FAVOURITES
🗣️ Heckling how-to: “Go faster!” is something you definitely don’t want to hear when you have a tough race. But what should you say to get triathletes motivated, or maybe even crack a smile? This handy guide to heckling is a great starting point. [220 Triathlon]
🍯 Carb king: They say the day's most important meal is breakfast, but what is the most important carbohydrate to accompany your critical meal? Apparently, it’s fructose! This infographic from Yann Le Meur explains why fructose is the carb that does the most. [YLM Sports Science]
⏪ Throwback Tuesday: Over the years, lots of things in triathlon have changed, but some haven’t. We loved watching this recap video of the 1998 Ironman Canada. But we have one question, those speedos had Chamois in them, right? 😲
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TEMPO EXCLUSIVE ARCHIVE
Expert analysis: How to nail your Ironman training nutrition.
That Triathlon Life gives back to future pros.
Expert analysis: Are you making the four most common nutrition mistakes.
Expert analysis: How do smartphones affect performance? A breakdown with Nate Wilson.
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