The trainer for Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson insisted Tuesday he didn't give the sprinters performance-enhancing drugs and suggested it's time for them to take "responsibility for their doping instead of looking around for a scapegoat."
In a statement The Associated Press received from one of two email accounts for Chris Xuereb, the trainer is quoted as saying he has done nothing wrong since the Jamaicans hired him in May to provide massage therapy and nutritional help.
Powell, the former 100-meter record holder, and Simpson, a three-time Olympic medalist, tested positive for the stimulant oxilofrine at the Jamaican championships last month. Their agent, Paul Doyle, contends something in the new supplements the sprinters were taking caused it and "Chris is the one that provided those."
The email quotes Xuereb as saying he was disappointed the athletes are blaming him for their violations.
"It is time the athletes took responsibility for their doping instead of looking around for a scapegoat, whether that person is their therapist, bartender or anyone else," says the 500-word email which details Xuereb's relationship with the sprinters. "Athletes keep using the same story, which is to blame the scapegoat for their own wrongdoing."
