The Confessions of Eddy Hellebuyck
The Confessions of Eddy Hellebuyck
An American marathon champion, suspended six years ago from the sport for doping, finally reveals the truth behind the chargesand why he now hopes to redeem himself.
Eddy Hellebuyck looks at home in Tucson. He looks at home under the vaulting granite peaks of the Catalina Mountains, whose trails he runs with the same light, effortless stride that carried him to more than 100 career marathons. A veteran of scores of hot-weather races around the world, including the 1996 Olympic Marathon in Atlanta, Hellebuyck looks at home under Arizona's desert sun. He even looks at home in an Italian restaurant in the Tucson suburb of Oro Valley, scarfing Chicago-style pizza and weighing in on Tiger Woods, who on this February day held his first news conference since his sex scandal had broken theprevious November.
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See photos from Hellebuyck's career.
"I find it interesting that some celebrities are big heroes because of their love life," he says, watching a TV replay of Woods apologizing. A native of Belgium who became a U.S. citizen in 1999, Hellebuyck speaks English with a charming accent and an awkward yet apposite syntax. "But other big stars," he continues in a wondering tone, "they get crucified."
Hellebuyck leans back in the booth. His blue eyes are clear, his face is handsomely seamed and tanned, and at age 49 his 5-foot-4-inch frame remains as lithe as a teenager's. No man could seem more at ease. And yet, despite all appearances, Eddy Hellebuyck is living in exile.
In 2004, when he was 43 and his 25-year running career was enjoying a sudden, blazing renaissance, Hellebuyck failed an out-of-competition drug test administered by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). He vehemently contested the results, which showed that he had used the banned substance erythropoietin (EPO), which enhances endurance, while preparing for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. Hellebuyck fought the case all the way to an arbitration court in Switzerland, but there the results were upheld. In December 2004 he was issued a two-year suspension retroactive to January 31, the date when he was given the test. To this day Eddy Hellebuyck is the only Olympic-caliber American marathoner to have been found guilty of a major doping violation.
Although he continued to claim his innocence after his suspension ended, Hellebuyck became a pariah within the international running community. In 2005, he and his wife, Shawn, and their young son, Jordan, left their longtime home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to start a new life here in Tucson. That new life has taken deep root. "There are so many good things happening for us now," Hellebuyck tells me over lunch. The cross-country and track teams he helps coach at nearby Ironwood Ridge High School both won state titles in 2009. Steve Magnuson, a senior at the school whom Hellebuyck has been mentoring for the last five years, has developed into one of the top prep runners in the nation, earning a scholarship to the University of North Carolina in the process. Hellebuyck plays golf several times a week, Shawn's insurance business is prospering, and Jordan, who is now 15, is starting a promising running career under his father's guidance.
Midway through our meal, Shawn joins us. A brisk, voluble woman of 46, she was part of her husband's management team during his competitive days and continues to advocate fiercely for his innocence. Hellebuyck explains to her that I am thinking of writing a story about him, a story about what happened to her husband after his suspension. Shawn eyes me, then says, "I'll tell you straight out that I'm against Eddy giving you an interview. Why stir up mud that's taken so long to settle?"
And then Shawn begins chanting the mantra of denial that she and Eddy have maintained for the last six years. "Everyone knows that the drug tests are inaccurate and unfair," she says. "Why would Eddy risk doping at the end of his career when he had no chance of making any big money? Do you know what kind of story I'd love to read? Not some tired old story about what happened 10 years ago, but one about an honest athlete trying to redeem himself after a false doping violation." Then Shawn changes subjects, and starts talking about Jordan. "Who knows, Jordan might be the third generation in his family to make it to the Olympics. Did you know that Eddy's father boxed in the '56 Melbourne Games for Belgium?"
After about a half-hour, Shawn stands to leave. She shoots her husband a glance, and then heads out of the restaurant and back to her insurance office. For a few minutes, Eddy and I work at our pizza. On the TV above the bar, ESPN keeps showing Tiger Woods apologizing. I'm thinking that, given Hellebuyck's continued denial, there is no real story here, and that I'll soon be driving to the airport to catch my flight home. But suddenly the conversation shifts when I finally ask Eddy if, in fact, he doped.
"Do you think I did?" he asks me.
I don't know," I reply. "I don't know you. All I know is what I've read and heard."
Hellebuyck hesitates. He no longer looks like a man at home in the world.
"Yeah," he says, "I did it." Invicta 6620 - Don't Get Ripped Off When You Buy Your Invicta 6620 Peapod Stop - Online Grocery Shopping and Delivery Service Buy Your Ticket & Get On The Bus 90 Day Payday Lenders - For Your Pecuniary Incapability Baja Insurance Buy Today For Peace of Mind Why Shopping Online is Easy and Best? What to Do Before You Buy The payoffs from youth ministry Buy a Multipurpose Accent table to enhance the look of your rooms Maxpayments Customer Care Process For Your Online Shopping Cart FA Cup Hospitality - Hospitality for FA Cup - Buy FA Cup Hospitality Packages How Do You Know What's Legit: Paycheck Advances