Rutger Beke

Who is Rutger Beke?

Rutger Beke is a retired Belgian triathlete living in Leuven. Beke competed for the Uplace Pro Triathlon Team until he announced his retirement from professional triathlon on 31 May 2011.

Rutger Beke started competing in the sport of triathlon when he was 17. He performed well in several Ironman races, including five top five placings in the Ironman Hawaii.

Beke became well-known because of his alleged EPO use. In 2004, he was tested positive in both his A- and B-sample for EPO. He was suspended from competition for 18 months. In August 2005, the Commission reversed its decision and exonerated him based on scientific and medical information presented by Beke. He asserted that his sample had become degraded as a result of bacterial contamination and that the substance identified by the laboratory as pharmaceutical EPO was, in fact, an unrelated protein indistinguishable from pharmaceutical EPO in the test method. He claimed, therefore, that the test had produced a false positive result in his case.

In 2007, he was the 5th Belgian who won an Ironman, together with Luc Van Lierde, Dirk van Gossum, Marino Vanhoenacker and Gerrit Schellens.