(Jamaica Observer) 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.
Yesterday, 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.
“It’s a good thing we had the presence of mind to keep the medicine that we had,” the Trinidadian added.
After being notified on July 25 of the positive test, he said they sent off the pills to the highly regarded NSF International Laboratories in Michigan, which showed the presence of the prohibitive substance HCTZ.
A copy of the test certificate obtained by the Observer shows that the medication Pharmatex Pharma Cold & Flu Multi Symptom Tablets were tested on August 16, three days after it was received by the American laboratory, by a method of “testing for HCT Testing performed by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry”.
Boldon said there has been precedence for total exoneration when it has been proven that there has been contamination.
The former Trinidad and Tobago sprinter conceded that the situation was not a good one, as Williams, whom he said was more of a daughter to him than an athlete, had been forced to “grow up much faster over this past week”.
He said Williams trained yesterday morning before leaving for school in Florida where she lives.
“She will be all right, as she is doing exceptionally well given all the circumstances,” said Boldon.
He added: “We are disappointed that we are here, we know better, but this was a mother trying to get her child better.”
Boldon said he was not worried about the expected backlash that was sure to come.
“She is more my daughter than an athlete, and I have tried to protect her, but with my error and others she has a lot of examples to learn from,” he said, alluding to his positive test for ephedrine in May 2001.
“Briana will continue to run really, really fast and one day we will look back at this situation and it will help her grow up, maybe a little prematurely, but my confidence in her will never waiver,” he noted.
Boldon said he had always told her that she would need her coach more when things were not going well and when the negatives happen, “but we are not worried at all about the future”.