Boldon confident his athlete will beat doping charges

Ato Boldon, coach of embattled teenage Jamaican sprint phenomenon Briana Williams, is confident his athlete will beat the charges against her as they continue preparation for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in Doha, Qatar, next month.

Boldon told the Jamaica Observer he is not overly worried due to what he thinks is the strength of their case and says he has prepared her for the backlash that is sure to come regardless of the outcome.

Results of her B sample which was released on Tuesday confirmed that the 17-year-old athlete had returned a positive test for the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), which is said to have been over-the-counter cold medicine she took while competing at the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) National Championships (Trials) in Kingston in June.

Also on Tuesday, renowned law professor Dr Emir Crowne, who is representing Williams, had called for an open hearing at the earliest possible date as they are confident she will be cleared and be eligible to be named to the Jamaican team on the September 6 deadline for entries.

Williams was said to have taken the medication after she fell ill during trials where she ran a national junior record 10.94 seconds for third place in the senior women’s 100m and a provisional place on the team to Doha.

On Wednesday, Boldon said they were “ready to present to anyone else” the remainder of the pills for them to get tested as well, if they desired, as “I have them in ziploc bags at home”.

“We saved the entire batch of the medicine. She felt sick and her mother gave her some of the medicine she had for herself; this is what mothers do, they take care of their children,” Boldon said.