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 05 July 2008 13:52 BST

Drugs-cheat Christie 'will not be Olympic torchbearer'

Friday, 22 Feb 2008 18:18
Linford Christie will not by Olympic torchbearer, GLA says
Former 100m gold medallist Linford Christie will not be a torchbearer when the Olympic flame comes to London in two months, it has been confirmed.

The announcement from the Greater London Authority (GLA) goes against claims from Christie's agent, who insists the 47-year-old was invited to participate in the ceremony.

The Olympic torch arrives in London in April, four years before the Games take place in the UK capital.

Christie's reported involvement in the torch relay proved highly controversial as he was handed a lifetime ban from athletics after testing positive for nandrolone in 1999.

His agent Sue Barrett claims she received a letter signed by Ken Livingstone in which the mayor said he "would be delighted" if the 100m champion at the Barcelona Olympics became a torchbearer.

But a GLA statement issued today said: "Linford Christie has made it clear he will not be participating in the torch relay.

"Inaccurate reports have appeared claiming that the mayor invited Linford Christie to participate in the torch relay."

A spokesperson continued: "The decision to invite Linford Christie to be a torchbearer was not taken by the mayor.

"The decision to invite Linford Christie was taken by officials and was a mistake. The mayor merely issued letters to those they had decided to invite as a formality.

"The mayor himself had the right to nominate five torchbearers. Linford Christie was not one of them."

Speaking yesterday, shadow sports minister Hugh Robertson said the decision to invite Christie was "utterly perverse".

"It sends out totally the wrong message to young people about drug cheats and to the world in general about the values that will underpin London 2012," he said.End of story


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