UK Athletics chairman lends support to Ohuruogu

World 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu should be reprieved from a lifetime Olympic ban, UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner said yesterday. The British athlete returned from a one-year ban for missing three doping tests to claim gold in Osaka last week but...

World 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu should be reprieved from a lifetime Olympic ban, UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner said yesterday.

The British athlete returned from a one-year ban for missing three doping tests to claim gold in Osaka last week but under British Olympic Association (BOA) rules she is still unavailable for selection for next year's Beijing Games.

Ohuruogu's appeal against the BOA ban is being supported by UK Athletics, with Warner saying her one-year ban is sufficient punishment for the offence.

A similar Olympics ban for world triathlon champion Tim Don was overturned on appeal.

"Amongst all the hurly burly and ill-informed comments in the media this past week, let's not forget she has never ever failed a drugs test," Warner said.

"And she has taken many, many tests in the past year. The three-strikes-and-you-miss-a-year rule I agree with entirely.

"What we need to work on with the testers is making it as easy as possible for honest athletes to be tested - there are a few wrinkles to be ironed out there."

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