CHRISTIE DRUG SAMPLE WAS 100 TIMES OVER THE LIMIT

The amount of nandrolone found in Linford Christie's urine sample was more
than 100 times the legal limit and 1,000 times more than is found in the
average person, it was revealed yesterday.

Up to 2 nanograms a millilitre is regarded as permissible for naturally
occurring nandrolone but Christie's reading, when he was tested after
running the 60 metres in Dortmund on February 13, was 200. The threshold is
normally 0.2.

It is believed that when the Scottish sprinter Dougie Walker tested
positive for the same drug last December the figure was between 10 and 13
nanograms.

Walker was cleared last week after a panel concluded he had not taken
nandrolone deliberately.

Christie, 39, has been suspended by the International Amateur Athletic
Federation. He strenuously denies taking any illegal substances.

Leading scientists last night said Christie's figure of 200 was unusually
high but declined to comment without seeing the paperwork. If Christie does
not manage to prove to a disciplinary panel of UK Athletics, the sport's
governing body, that he did not ingest nandrolone deliberately, he will be
banned for two years.

Drugs test figures can sometimes prove inaccurate. In 1994, Diane Modahl
recorded a high testosterone level and was banned for four years. But the
British runner discovered her urine sample had not been stored properly,
possibly causing its degradation and a subsequent high reading.

The laboratory where Christie's samples were analysed in Cologne has a
reputation as the best and most advanced in the world. It is unlikely it
would have stored Christie's sample in an improper manner.

"There has been a lot of speculation on this case and I'm not going to fuel
that speculation by commenting on this figure," said Sue Barrett,
Christie's manager. "The facts will come out in due course.

"It would have been nice if the whole affair could have been conducted
without it becoming public. We are confident that Linford will be cleared.
He sleeps at night because he knows he has done nothing wrong."

Christie, who retired from top-level competition two years ago, campaigned
throughout his career against drug use.

He has hired the leading solicitor Geoffrey Bindman to fight his case.

In 1988, Christie tested positive for drugs at the Seoul Olympics, but was
cleared when it was found he had taken ginseng.

Primo Nebiolo, the IAAF president, expressed regret at Christie's positive
test but said that the former Olympic 100 metres champion would have to pay
if he has made a mistake.

"All those doped will be treated the same way, we will be inflexible," he
told the French sports newspaper L'Equipe, which broke the story.