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Sport

18th Dec 2017

World 100m champion Justin Gatlin at the centre of fresh doping scandal

Gatlin has responded by sacking his coach

Simon Lloyd

Justin Gatlin and members of his team are being investigated by sports and doping authorities after the findings of an investigation by The Telegraph.

Undercover reporters visited the world 100 metres champion’s training camp in Florida, where members of his team are said to have offered to illicitly supply performance-enhancing drugs.

It’s claimed that Gatlin’s coach, Dennis Mitchell (a former Olympic champion) and Robert Wagner, an athletics agent, offered to supply and administer testosterone and human-growth hormone for an actor training for a film.

The two men were also secretly recorded admitting that banned substances were still used throughout the athletics world, adding that it was possible to avoid positive doping tests. Wagner is also said to have claimed that Gatlin himself had been using performance enhancing drugs.

In response to the findings, Gatlin has sacked his coach, also revealing over five years’ worth of drugs tests to show he has not tested positive for any banned substance during this time.

Renaldo Nehemiah, Gatlin’s agent of nearly 15 years, has added that Wagner had worked for the sprinter on no more than three occasions. He also explained Gatlin had not been present when banned substances were discussed with the agent or coach.

Gatlin has served two doping bans earlier in his career. Because of this, the 35-year-old was jeered by some of the crowd in London as he won gold in the World Championships 100 metre final four months ago.