Walker Takes IAAF to High Court
LONDON — European 200-metre champion Doug Walker will challenge on Monday the world governing body’s right to suspend him from competition although he has been cleared of a doping offence by the British federation.
Walker, former Olympic 100m champion Linford Christie and 400m hurdler Gary Cadogan were each cleared by UK Athletics after testing positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone.
A UK Athletics panel ruled that it could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt that Walker had deliberately taken nandrolone. Similar findings were made in the Christie and Cadogan cases.
However, the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) did not accept the decisions and referred all three cases to its arbitration panel. The panel was scheduled to meet this month but will not now convene until August.
In the meantime, Walker who was exonerated by UK Athletics a year ago this week, has not been allowed to compete.
Walker’s lawyer, Nick Bitel, contends that Walker is being tried for the same offence twice. The IAAF argues that it has a global responsbility for the sport and must ensure the same rules are applied in the same manner by each of its federations.
Walker’s agent Elliott Bunney said the Scottish sprinter had no alternative but to go to court.
‘Going to court is not something Dougie is desperate to do,’ Bunney said. ‘But we feel he’s been forced to do it.
‘He’s always said he is innocent and he was cleared a year ago but the whole case has dragged on for so long now he has no alternative.’
The court case is unlikely to throw any light on the spate of positive tests for nandrolone over the past two years.
This month Jamaican sprinter Merlene Ottey was cleared to run at the Sydney Games after it was shown there was doubt about the way her urine sample had been analysed.
A UK Athletics disciplinary panel has thrown out a nandrolone case involving 400m runner Mark Hylton because of flaws in the testing laboratory’s techniques.
The panel has yet to rule on the nandrolone case of Commonwealth 400 metres silver medallist Mark Richardson.
Steven Downes Reuters
Source: SOCOG