Athletics: Games blow as British record holders fail drugs tests

Two British record holders, the pole vaulter Janine Whitlock and the discus thrower Perriss Wilkins, were yesterday named as having tested positive for the illegal steroid methandienone. The timing of the announcement could hardly have been worse for a sport which is preparing to host the Commonwealth Games at Manchester in less than two weeks' time.

In a statement released at yesterday's Norwich Union European Trials and AAA Championships, UK Athletics confirmed rumours that both athletes had failed tests ­ Whitlock after setting what appeared to be a 37th British record of 4.41 metres on 16 June at the Commonwealth Trials, and Wilkins in an out-of-competition test on 21 May.

The domestic federation has been criticised by the International Association of Athletics Federations for failing to deal with the Whitlock case more speedily. "We do have an issue with British athletics," an IAAF spokesman said. "There should have been a hearing by now."

The domestic body said yesterday that it was still awaiting further information from Whitlock before the case could be reviewed by an independent drug advisory officer. Whitlock has until 23 July ­ two days before the Commonwealth Games start ­ to provide any further data, although that deadline might have fallen earlier had UK Sport not delivered original notification of the adverse test to the wrong address.

If the advisory officer decides there is a case to answer, Whitlock will be suspended and an independent disciplinary committee will be appointed to review and hear all the evidence.

The hearing determines what punishment, if any, should be applied to an athlete, after which the decision is passed on to the IAAF. Both Whitlock and Wilkins face a two-year ban which is the standard punishment for serious offences.

Wilkins, a 34-year-old from Banbury, has already had both A and B samples analysed and is suspended forthwith. A committee has been appointed to review his case, in UK Athletics' words, "shortly".

UK Athletics arranges for over 600 doping tests per year, and these adverse cases are the first to emerge since the Scottish 60 metres sprinter John Skeete tested positive for steroids in January of last year.

Methandienone, which goes under the tradename of Dianabol, is one of the older forms of steroids. It cannot occur naturally in the body, and is thus one of the more simple abuses to detect.

Whitlock puzzled many in Birmingham's Alexander Stadium on Saturday by bursting into tears soon after winning her sixth AAA outdoors title with 4.35m. The reason is now clear.

After the 28-year-old Dewsbury athlete's performance in Manchester, when she received a second Rover car for a domestic record, she appeared set to challenge for the Commonwealth title, especially as she had beaten the guest competitor Tatiana Grigorieva, the Olympic silver medallist. Now the road appears a far rockier one for the new Rover owner. The sponsors, too, will have been given food for thought considering the fact that the previous car they awarded went to the Olympic slalom bronze medallist Alain Baxter, who was subsequently disqualified after testing adversely for a banned substance.

Whitlock, who became the first British woman to vault four metres in 1996, was originally coached by her father, Tony, and then came under the direction of Steve Rippon at Loughborough before moving on to the former British record holder Brian Hooper in April of this year, who accompanied her to warm-weather training in South Africa.

Wilkins set his first British record in 1997 and extended it to 66.64 metres at a minor meeting in Birmingham a year later. But some suspicion has been attached to his performances since he was caught with an underweight discus at the 1999 World Championship trials here. After a lengthy enquiry, Wilkins was let off with a warning, but more stringent rules and judging have been introduced in the wake of that controversy.

He has not competed this season, although he was due to appear at the Commonwealth Trials. However, he did not appear in competition at Manchester ­ presumably because he had just received notice of his positive test.

The news is embarrassing for the domestic sport given the proximity of the biggest sporting competition to be hosted on these shores since the Commonwealth Games took place in Edinburgh 16 years ago. But UK Athletics will point to the fact that such news only emphasises how seriously doping offences are pursued and prosecuted.