British athlete allowed to compete for nearly six months after admitting doping

Tokyo Olympic Stadium – British athlete allowed to compete for nearly six months after admitting doping

A British athlete was allowed to continue competing after he confessed to having taken a banned substance, it has emerged.

Louis Walker was not immediately suspended by UK Anti-Doping after he told it he had taken clenbuterol to “assist him in losing weight”.

It took almost six months for the athlete to be provisionally banned by the Government-appointed agency, allowing him to compete at last year’s World Triathlon Duathlon Championships in Ibiza.

Walker’s initial suspension became a full three-year exile from sport last month, which was backdated to when the provisional sanction was imposed on Sep 27, 2023.

The delay between Walker’s admission and him being stopped from racing will prevent him from being able to return to competition in April 2026, three years after his initial confession.

An issued decision in the case published by Ukad this week made no mention of Walker competing in Ibiza on April 29 last year, where he finished 32nd in the 25-29 male age group sprint.

The decision revealed that Walker was caught in possession of Clenoxin tablets – which contain clenbuterol – by his then partner, Tilly Bland, in February last year and that she confronted him, at which point he admitted taking them over the previous fortnight.

It said she then told his coach, Mark Mills, who spoke to Walker before reporting the matter to Ukad, which interviewed the athlete on April 3, 2023.

The decision read: “He admitted to taking clenbuterol after completing research on the internet about its effects. He indicated that he had been experiencing difficult personal circumstances at the time and wanted to take something that would assist him in losing weight, as he was concerned about his body image.”

It also confirmed he was not provisionally suspended until Sep 27, shortly after which he reaffirmed his confession and stated his transgression had taken place during a period after his father had died.

It added: “He said that because of this, he began to regain the weight he had trained so hard to lose. He said that taking the prohibited substance at the time was not about sport, but was about a battle he was having with himself. He expressed remorse for his actions.”

Graham Arthur, who spent more than seven years as Ukad’s legal director, told Telegraph Sport the agency had “some explaining to do” over the delay.

“If somebody comes to you and says, ‘I think such and such has been doping’, and then you go to that person and you confront them with the allegation and that person says, ‘Yes, I have – I admit it’, it is hard to see what else you need to do before you charge and suspend him.”

Ukad and the World Anti-Doping Agency have been approached for comment.

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