Christie says 'three strike' rule penalises the innocent

GOTHENBURG, Sweden - Former Olympic 100m champion Linford Christie today said the "three strike" rule for missing drugs tests was penalising the innocent and not catching the guilty.

UK Athletics withdrew Commonwealth 400m gold medallist Christine Ohuruogu on the eve of the European championships for missing three out-of-competition drugs tests in the past 18 months.

"What we're doing there, we're not catching the guilty, we are penalising the innocent." Christie told reporters.

"I think the system was set up to protect the innocent and it's not doing that and that is the only fault I have with it.

"Christine's only guilt is that she's naive."

The rule, introduced by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) last year, says athletes have to declare where they will be available for testing for one hour, five days a week.

"Some athletes are not great at lifestyle management unfortunately, but that's not their job. Their job is to go out there and perform," said Christie, who failed a dope test for the steroid nandrolone in 1999 when he was semi-retired from the sport.

The sprinter has always denied taking performance enhancing substances and was cleared by UK Athletics, although the IAAF gave him a two-year ban.

Christie called for greater cooperation between athletes and their federations.

"I just think more people need to work together. Athletes need to talk to the federation, the federation need to talk to the testers and everyone else, to get together and make it work. Otherwise it's just not going to work."

UK Athletics performance director Dave Collins told BBC radio on Tuesday that more than 70 British athletes had missed at least one out-of-competition test.

"It's an extremely complicated process but they have to do it," Collins said. "It's an essential part of them being professional athletes and us making sure it's a drug-free sport.

"It's not without its challenges and there are certain ways in which we are trying to make this easier for the athletes.

Christie's own doping ban has continued to haunt him and under British Olympic Association rules he is not allowed to work in any official capacity with the national Olympic team.

But it appears he is slowly being brought back into the athletics fold when last weekend UK Athletics announced Christie was to become a mentor to the British team.

"It shows first of all that they think I'm innocent, that they've got faith in me." Christie said.

"I'm not here to worry about what other people think about a moral dilemma, my moral dilemma is that I didn't do anything wrong and as long as I go to bed a night and I can sleep I don't worry about what people think.

"I didn't get to be world, Olympic and European champion by worrying about what people think about me."

- REUTERS