Rhys Williams becomes second Welshman to be kicked out of Commonwealth Games for failed drug test



400m hurdles champion Rhys Williams has been thrown out of Glasgow Games for failing a drug test

Wales co-captain failed the test at the Glasgow Grand Prix on July 11

Williams insists he 'did not knowingly take a banned substance' and has requested a hearing before the National Ant-Doping Panel

Wiliams is second Welshman to be suspended following 800m runner Gareth Warburton



The Commonwealth Games have been rocked by a second failed drugs test ahead of the start of the athletics on Saturday.

European 400 metres hurdles champion and Wales co-captain Rhys Williams, son of Wales and Lions rugby legend JJ Williams, was kicked out of the Games after failing a drugs test at the Glasgow Grand Prix on July 11.

It is the second shock for the Wales team after 800m runner Gareth Warburton also lost his place last week after testing positive for a banned substance.

Shock: Wales co-captain Rhys Williams has been suspended from the Games for a failed drugs test

Like Warburton, Williams insisted he had ‘not knowingly taken any banned substance’ and has requested a full hearing before the National Anti-Doping Panel, though this is not likely to take place until September. In the meantime, both athletes will be banned from track and field.

Williams, 30, said: ‘I am utterly devastated about the news of this anti-doping rule violation, which has come as a great shock to me. From the outset, I would strongly like to state that I have not knowingly taken any banned substance.

‘To be named co-team captain for the Welsh Athletics Team was a great honour and I am distraught that I won’t be able to fulfil this role and join them as part of Team Wales.

‘As a professional athlete, I have always supported and have been an advocate of clean sport. However, I recognise that the responsibility for this situation lies with me and I’m committed to working with UK Anti-Doping and will fully co-operate in the legal process.’

Enter the dragons: Rhys Williams poses with his father, the legendary Wales rugby player JJ Williams (L)

Williams’ statement was remarkably similar to the one released on Warburton’s behalf last week. The pair share the same management company and also sometimes use the same range of supplements, provided by a company called Mountain Fuel.

It is understood Williams began using four supplements — which come in sachet form and are then mixed with milk or water — at the start of 2014, with Warburton following suit a month later. One of the products common to both is called Night Fuel, a chocolate- tasting drink high in protein.

No Mountain Fuel supplements are, however, listed on the Informed-Sport website, either in the list of registered or batch-tested products. Athletes are urged to cross-check this website for accredited supplements that should be safe and legal for them to use, though the site does not offer a 100 per cent guarantee. A spokesman for Mountain Fuel confirmed yesterday that ‘an internal and external investigation is going on to find out what has happened’.

The 400m hurdler has requested a hearing after insisting he never knowingly took a banned substance

The company are expecting test results back early next week but are confident no substances deemed illegal under the World Anti-Doping Agency code will be found in their products.

Welsh Athletics officials admitted ‘obvious concern’ that its previously unblemished anti-doping record has been breached for the second time in nine days and announced it had launched an ‘internal review’.

Matt Newman, chief executive of Welsh Athletics, said Williams’ ‘B’ sample was tested on Thursday and matched the ‘A’ sample.

As in Warburton’s case, the exact nature of the banned substance involved has yet to be disclosed, but Newman said the two failed tests were ‘not a coincidence’.

He added: ‘There are common factors in the two situations. The fact there have been two cases in a short space of time mean it’s not a coincidence. But at this stage we just hope we can back up what the athletes suspect is the source of the contamination.’

Double trouble: Rhys Williams was the second Welshman to be thrown out of the Games after Gareth Warburton

All home nation athletes due to compete at the Games have had to take part in an anti-doping education programme, which specifically stresses the importance of double-checking the legality of supplements using the Informed-Sport website.

Williams, who won a bronze medal four years ago in Delhi, had been due to compete in the 400m hurdles alongside former training partner and defending Commonwealth champion, Dai Greene, a staunch and often outspoken anti-doping advocate.

The pair were once both part of a well-renowned training group working under Malcolm Arnold, who coached Colin Jackson to the 1993 world 110m hurdles title and a world record. Williams, however, left in 2010 to work with Dan Pfaff and, currently, Adrian Thomas.

The Welsh have already been hit by the withdrawal of cyclist Becky James and triathletes Non Stanford and Helen Jenkins through injury, all of whom would have been tipped to win medals.

Missed: Rhys Williams won gold at the 2012 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki, Finland

Boxer Fred Evans was refused accreditation, ostensibly owing to his conviction for assault in April, and now two members of the athletics team have failed drugs tests. Williams’ ban is also a further blow to the credibility of the athletics competition, usually one of the marquee sports at the Games.

With fans already disappointed by the timing of Mo Farah’s decision to pull out, and Usain Bolt opting only to run in the 4x100m relay next weekend, the sport has now been plunged into another drugs storm.

The issue has already marred much of the early season, with high profile sprinters Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell returning to the sport after serving drugs bans to face Justin Gatlin. American Gatlin is the fastest man in the world this year, yet served a four-year ban following his second anti-doping offence in 2006.

RHYS WILLIAMS FACTFILE

1984: Born February 27 in Cardiff, Wales. His father is former Wales rugby union international JJ Williams. 2005: Takes 400 metres hurdles gold at the AAA Under-23 Championships. 2006: Finishes fourth on his Commonwealth Games debut, as well as taking bronze at the European Championships. Finishes fourth in the European Cup 400m hurdles. 2008: Misses the 2008 Olympics after sustaining a stress fracture in his right foot. 2010: Takes silver at the European Championships and wins bronze for Wales at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. 2012: Completes a full set of European medals with 400m hurdles gold in Helsinki just a few weeks before the Olympic Games, only to fail to qualify from his London 2012 semi-final. 2014: July 25 - Williams is suspended after failing a drugs test, Welsh Athletics announces, ruling him out of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.