Gatlin shocked by doping scandal allegations

WORLD 100m champion Justin Gatlin is shocked and surprised by allegations in a British newspaper that his coach and an athletics agent offered to sell performance-enhancing drugs to undercover reporters.

Anti-doping officials have launched an investigation into the claims about Gatlin’s coach, Dennis Mitchell, and an agent, Robert Wagner, while International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) President Seb Coe says changes are needed.

“We are looking at who we want in our sport,” Coe, 1 500m gold medallist from the 1980 and 1984 Games, said.

“The IAAF recognises as an industry that we need to do more.

“Focusing on the influences that surround athletes is a critical area of work.”

American sprint star Gatlin, 35, who has twice served bans for doping, said he had sacked Mitchell after hearing of the claims.

The report alleged Mitchell and Wagner offered to provide undercover reporters with false prescriptions for banned performance-enhancing substances and smuggle the drugs into the United States.

The claims are being investigated by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), set up this year by the IAAF and the US AntiDoping Agency (Usada).

Gatlin said: “I was shocked and surprised to learn that my coach would have anything to do with even the appearance of these accusations. I fired him as soon as I found out about this.”

He said he was not using and had not used performance-enhancing drugs.

Gatlin has long been a controversial figure after being banned for doping in 2001 for one year and in 2006 for four years.

His long-time agent, former sprint hurdler Renaldo Nehemiah, told the newspaper that Wagner had represented Gatlin only two to three times and that Gatlin was not present when banned substances were allegedly discussed with Mitchell or Wagner.

Mitchell and Wagner allegedly offered to supply and administer testosterone and human growth hormone for an actor training for a film on athletics at a price of $250 000 (R3.1-million). – AFP