IPF Going Beyond the Ban With Ed Coan

By Joe Pietaro
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Updated: February 2, 2016

Picture this scenario in Major League Baseball: Pete Rose, who is banned for life, is holding a seminar on hitting and the league office prohibits any active players from attending it on their own time. The all-time leader and arguably the best pure hitter in the history of our National Pastime is considered off limits because the powers that be deem so. As a matter of fact, even if Rose just happened to run into a player at the grocery store, he would not be allowed to give the kid a quick tip for free.

Sounds ridiculous, right? But that is exactly the case with the International Powerlifting Federation and Ed Coan, the holder of 71 world powerlifting records and the easy choice for the greatest of all time.

The 5’6″, 220-pound Chicago native has squatted over 1,000 pounds, benched more than 500 and eclipsed 900 on the deadlift. He competed in three different decades (1980s, 1990s for the IPF and 2000s with the USPF) but was suspended by the IPF in 1996 after failing his third test for performance-enhancing drugs.

NEWS FLASH: If anyone actually believes that people who lift 1,000 pounds are not using steroids, check out that price tag on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Steroids are a part of sports; plain and simple. Especially strength sports like powerlifting and bodybuilding. Sure, the IPF and World Anti Doping Agency make every attempt to change the public perception, but is it going to far to try and take away someone’s chance at earning a living outside of your respective agency’s jurisdiction? Or extending the same to do so?

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Here is an official statement that was posted on the IPF website:

ED COAN TRAINING SEMINARS IN SWEDEN (1/20/16)

The IPF and all member nations abide by the WADA Code which is the universal document regarding anti-doping rules.

WADA rules explain that in sporting matters, we must not work or associate with individuals who are serving a period of ineligibility due to an anti-doping rule violation. Therefore, we remind athletes and officials of all our member nations that attending events or associating with a banned lifter is prohibited by WADA.

Please be aware of the type of activities that this rule would apply to. For example, in Sweden Ed Coan is conducting seminars. As indicated in the Anti-Doping Rule Violation list, Mr. Coan is banned for life from the IPF, and thus it is prohibited to attend his seminars as this would violate rule 2.10.

For further information please refer to the IPF Anti-Doping Rules.

And here is the imperative part of rule 2.10:

Comment to Article 2.10: Athletes and other Persons must not work with coaches, trainers, physicians or other Athlete Support Personnel who are Ineligible on account of an anti-doping rule violation or who have been criminally convicted or professionally disciplined in relation to doping. Some examples of the types of association which are prohibited include: obtaining training, strategy, technique, nutrition or medical advice; obtaining therapy, treatment or prescriptions; providing any bodily products for analysis; or allowing the Athlete Support Person to serve as an agent or representative. Prohibited association need not involve any form of compensation.

MSM reached out to the IPF without receiving a response.

“This is just crazy,” said Rikard Erlandsson, who is the organizer of the seminar in question. “It all started here in Sweden when I began promoting the poster online. The Swedish organization SSF at first said that these seminars were together with the WPC and because if that, it was forbidden for any IPF members to participate. I sent them an e-mail explaining that they are private events, so they took it out on Ed instead.

“The problem now is that the IPF has had lifters competing at the FIBO, Body Power and other events where Ed and other banned lifters have been in,” he continued. “so I asked the IPF about that and am still waiting for an answer.”

One that will in all likelihood never come.