LONDON: World 100 meters champion Justin Gatlin says he is “shocked and surprised” by allegations in a British newspaper that his coach and an athletics agent offered to sell performance-enhancing drugs to undercover reporters.
Anti-doping officials have launched an investigation into the claims in the Daily Telegraph about Gatlin’s coach Dennis Mitchell and an agent, Robert Wagner.
The 35-year-old American sprint star, who has twice served bans for doping, said he had sacked Mitchell after hearing of the claims.
The report alleged Mitchell and Wagner offered to provide undercover reporters with false prescriptions for banned performance-enhancing substances and smuggle the drugs into the United States. Both deny the allegations.
The claims are being investigated by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), set up this year by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
Gatlin said on Instagram: “I was shocked and surprised to learn 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.”
He said he was “not using and have not used” performance-enhancing drugs.
He added: “All legal options are on the table as I will not allow others to lie about me like this.”
A spokesman for USADA said the report would be examined carefully.
“Investigations stemming from tips and whistleblowers play a critical role in anti-doping efforts,” a spokesman told the Telegraph.
“We are presently coordinating with the Athletics Integrity Unit in order to investigate these claims fully.”
IAAF president Sebastian Coe said the claims were concerning.
“These allegations are extremely serious and I know the independent Athletics Integrity Unit will investigate in accordance with its mandate,” Coe said.
That came even as the 2017 world champion, who beat Usain Bolt in the 100m final in London, had legal advisers release five years of official drugs tests that showed he was clean.
Gatlin has long been a controversial figure after being banned for doping in 2001 for one year and in 2006 for four years.
His long-time agent, former sprint hurdler Renaldo Nehemiah, told the newspaper that Wagner had represented Gatlin only two to three times and that Gatlin was not present when banned substances were allegedly discussed with Mitchell or Wagner.
Mitchell and Wagner allegedly offered to supply and administer testosterone and human growth hormone for an actor training for a film on athletics at a price of $250,000, according to the report.
The newspaper said it began its investigation in July after hearing of agents and trainers involved in supplying drugs to athletes.
In a statement to the Telegraph, Mitchell said: “I never suggested in any way that any of my current athletes used any banned substances or that I was familiar with training any of my current athletes with those substances.”
Wagner told the paper: “I wasn’t involved in doping. Obviously I played along because I knew what was going on. I had to get them hooked.”
Sprint king Justin Gatlin fires coach amid doping allegations
Sprint king Justin Gatlin fires coach amid doping allegations
FIFA announces $60 World Cup tickets after pricing backlash
PARIS: World Cup organizers unveiled a new cut-price ticket category on Tuesday after a backlash by fans over pricing for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Football’s global governing body FIFA said in a statement that it had created a limited number of “Supporter Entry Tier” fixed at $60 for all 104 matches, including the final.
It said the plan was “designed to further support traveling fans following their national teams across the tournament.”
FIFA said that the $60 tickets would be reserved for fans of qualified teams and would make up 10 percent of each national federation’s allotment.
Fan group Football Supporters Europe , which last week called prices “extortionate” and “astronomical,” responded by saying the FIFA was offering too little.
“While we welcome FIFA’s seeming recognition of the damage its original plans were to cause, the revisions do not go far enough,” FSE said in a statement on Tuesday.
Last week, FSE said ticket prices were almost five times higher than in 2022 in Qatar, describing FIFA’s pricing for 2026 as a “monumental betrayal of the tradition of the World Cup.”
“If a supporter were to follow their team from the first match to the final it would cost them a minimum of $6,900,” it said at the time, adding that World Cup organizers had promised tickets priced from $21 in a bid document released in 2018.
‘Appeasement tactic’
On Tuesday, FSE said FIFA’s partial ticketing U-turn exposed flaws in how prices for next year’s tournament had been set.
“For the moment we are looking at the FIFA announcement as nothing more than an appeasement tactic due to the global negative backlash,” FSE said.
“This shows that FIFA’s ticketing policy is not set in stone, was decided in a rush, and without proper consultation — including with FIFA’s own member associations.
“Based on the allocations publicly available, this would mean that at best a few hundred fans per match and team would be lucky enough to take advantage of the 60 US dollar prices, while the vast majority would still have to pay extortionate prices, way higher than at any tournament before.”
The organization also criticized the failure to make provisions for supporters with disabilities or their companions.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed FSE, stating that FIFA’s cheaper ticket category did not go far enough.
“I welcome FIFA’s announcement of some lower priced supporters tickets,” Starmer wrote on X.
“But as someone who used to save up for England tickets, I encourage FIFA to do more to make tickets more affordable so that the World Cup doesn’t lose touch with the genuine supporters who make the game so special.”
Announcing the $60 tickets on Tuesday, FIFA said that national federations “are requested to ensure that these tickets are specifically allocated to loyal fans who are closely connected to their national teams.”
FIFA also said that if fans bought tickets for games in the knockout rounds only to find their team eliminated at an earlier stage, they “will have the administrative fee waived when refunds are processed.”
It added that it was making the announcement “amid extraordinary global demand for tickets” with 20 million requests already submitted.
The draw for tickets of all prices in the first round of sales will take place on Tuesday, January 13.
