Athletics: Shocked Gatlin Sacks Coach after Doping Claims
Written by MaxFM on December 20, 2017
Athletics: Shocked Gatlin Sacks Coach after Doping Claims
World 100 meters champion Justin Gatlin said on Tuesday he was “shocked and surprised” at doping allegations made against his coach Dennis Mitchell, like Gatlin a convicted doper, but added that he had sacked him as soon as he heard about the issue.
Gatlin, 35, who won the world title in London this year against a backdrop of jeering relating to his two doping bans, issued a statement via instagram where he said: “I am not using and have not used PEDs 9performance enhancement drugs)
I was shocked and surprised to hear that my coach would have anything to do with even the appearance of these current accusations. I fired him as soon as I found out about this.”
The Athletics Integrity Unit and the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) have both said they are investigating the claims.
Gatlin served two doping bans for offences he has always denied and after his second comeback, was widely painted by the media as the bad guy going up against the sport’s darling, Usain Bolt.
