BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - KITTITIAN sprint icon and former 100m World Champion Kim Collins has called on the banned Jamaican athletes to take responsibility for their actions.
Jamaica's Asafa Powell was yesterday (Apr. 10) given an 18-month ban after testing positive for the stimulant oxilofrine. Powell said he took the substance unwittingly in a supplement given by his coach.
Sherone Simpson, an Olympic 4x100m relay gold and silver medalist, was suspended for 18 months by a Jamaican anti-doping panel on Tuesday, having also tested positive for oxilofrine.
And Olympic discus thrower Allison Randall was banned for two years by the same panel.
In an interview with BBC Sport, Collins reportedly said: “If you say you trust people, and that's what happens, you're just as bad as them," adding that cheats need to “man up”.
Collins added that it was wrong for Powell to put the blame on a coach.
"You say you trust this guy, and he got you into this trouble. What can you say? You trusted him.
"But I'm on my own. So I have nobody about whom I can say, 'I trusted this person'. I take full responsibility for what happens. But you cannot put the blame on anybody else by saying, 'I trusted people.'"
Collins said these athletes should use the example of British sprinter Dwain Chambers who admitted that he is to be blamed after testing positive for the designer drug tetrahydrogestrinone
"Whenever these tests come out, people have some really strange excuses. Very few people man up, and I think that's why Dwain ended up in so much trouble - for saying the truth.
"In track and field, when it comes to cheating, you do not tell the truth. You lie, lie, lie. And everybody says, 'Oh, he really didn't do it.' Come on, we all know. Man up. Man up. Man up. When I'm out there losing to you, or anyone else is losing to you, man up. If you're a woman, the same thing applies: man up.
"It's one of the ways you can go right, where you say, 'Ok, I made this mistake. This was why I felt I needed to do it, but I'm telling you that it's not worth it. This is what I had, and this is all that I lost.'"
In 2002 Collins was involved in a drug controversy after winning the Commonwealth Games 100m title, when he tested positive for salbutamol. He was however cleared of the charge after it was found out that the drug was part of his asthma’s medication.
He noted that any drugged athlete would be cheating not only the sport but also young fans.
"I think about the kids who look up to a lot of us, and they want to be like us. They think we are great. And it breaks their hearts when they find out that you're not really who you say you are, based on what is going on.
"I would say to any athlete who is cheating, 'Don't go to any kids, or to any school, and tell them to stay in school and say no to drugs if you're high while doing it.' That's not cool."
