Nick Matthew Says Mo Farah Controversy a Wake-up Call from PSA Media 24TH JUN 2015 -
England No.1 Nick Matthew admits he has become more vigilant to drug
testing in the wake of the controversy surrounding double Olympic gold
medallist Mo Farah.
Reports last week indicated that the track star had missed two drug tests before claiming his medals at London 2012.
Matthew believes Farah has been subjected to a witch hunt but says the
publicity surrounding the track star has been something of a wake-up
call to many sportsmen.
“There are many high profile athletes I know who have missed the odd
test purely by negligence rather than a deliberate thing,” said the
Yorkshireman, who was awarded an OBE by Her Majesty the Queen of
England earlier this month, in his Sheffield Star column.
“We have all missed tests and I agree with Steve Cram [BBC athletics
commentator] that Farah has been the victim of a witch hunt. On the
other hand, when you’ve forgotten once, a well-known athlete like Farah
should be on his guard and updating his whereabouts all the time.
“This story has been allowed to escalate because Farah showed a little bit of unprofessionalism.”
The three-time World Champion revealed that he had missed a drugs test himself a number of years ago.
“I have only ever missed one drugs test and that was when my wife and I
first got together five years ago. I ended up staying at her house in
Manchester one night and I had told the drug testers I would be staying
at home in Sheffield. I forgot to change it.
“After missing that one, it puts you on red alert and makes you realise
you are close to being on dangerous ground. It made me extra vigilant
and I’ve not missed another one since. That gave me a wake-up call.”
