Gemili’s concern at tests
Dad feeds Warrington’s desire to rule the world
TOP British athletes have hit out at the reduction of drug testing during the Covid-19 crisis.
UK Anti-doping announced in March a reduced testing programme due to the lockdown.
But chief executive Nicole Sapstead warned that athletes and coaches were mistaken if they thought rules could be broken.
Some stars have described the decision on testing as disheartening, with leading sprinter Adam Gemili slamming the reduced levels.
Gemili, a 4x100m relay world champion, admits athletes have concerns about being tested in line with social distancing guidelines.
But they have no choice if someone turns up at their home.
Athletes who refuse face a four-year ban.
Gemili, who was tested in May, said: “I was like, ‘Do I open the door?’ But, because it’s anti-doping, I was like, ‘Yeah, I have to’.
“I just assumed because anti-doping is here, they’re allowed to be. He stood far away from me, and he was in and out in 20 minutes.
“Find me an athlete that says ‘no testing’… because that’s your career basically.
“If anti-doping show up at the door, you let them in.”
JOSH WARRINGTON has been known to order his Sunday lunch in his dressing room before a world title fight.
And it is understandable when his dad and trainer, Sean O’hagan, goes through his list of specialities – which is possibly topped by his honey and soy-soaked slow-cooked pork.
“On a Saturday, you’re getting him ready for a world title fight and he is like, ‘Ah, I’m coming round yours on Sunday, what are you making?,’” said O’hagan about his son, the IBF featherweight champion from Leeds.
“He is getting ready for a world title fight and saying, ‘Do some quesadillas, do some kebabs, do some of that pork if you want, you can do some lasagne.’
“Don’t buy into him telling you he only eats healthy!”
There can be up to 20 guests O’hagan’s house every Sunday.
“I should start charging them really, it’s a Friday now and I’m already taking orders,” he said before bursting out at
■ laughing as we chatted. But looking after people is one of his many skills.
Warrington, 29, does not share the same surname as his dad because his mum, Amanda, registered his birth.
His parents split up when he was 14 and he went to live with his dad with brothers Marcus and Thomas, while sister Megan stayed with their mum.
It wasn’t easy for O’hagan, who, among other jobs, worked as a taxi driver, doorman, road digger and driver for disabled adults to make ends meet. “I split up with Josh’s mum amicably,” said the trainer, who also has a step-daughter, Kaitlyn, with partner Miranda.
“It was hard bringing the boys up on my own. I worked double shifts, I’ve done whatever I needed to pay my mortgage and bring my kids up.
“If I needed to stay in my car to earn a certain amount of money, then I did.
“If they needed a new pair of shoes, football boots or boxing boots, then I stayed in my car a few hours longer.
“It was tough but it was a proper lads’ house. It was funny.
“I’m not a saint for bringing my own kids up – everyone should step up to the mark.” It was made tougher by the fact Marcus is impaired from an illness as a child, while Megan was born autistic.
But supporting his siblings was one of the early motivations for Warrington to be a success in the sport.
O’hagan said: “It was Josh’s idea. He never mentions it, but it was all about making sure he could look after them.
“The goal for him was to be able to look after them once boxing was over.”
Warrington became Leeds’ first world champion when he beat Lee Selby at Elland Road in 2018.
He has since defended the belt in a barn burner against Carl Frampton and backed