Ohuruogu under investigation for training sessions with banned boyfriend

UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) is investigating whether its rules have been breached after the British sprinter Victoria Ohuruogu was photographed training alongside her long-term boyfriend, who is serving a three-year doping ban.

It was announced in April that Antonio Infantino, who was born in England but switched to running for Italy five years ago and competed at the Tokyo Olympic Games, had been banned for failing a drugs test. He specialised in the 100m and 200m.

However, on Saturday Ohuruogu, 29, and Infantino, 31, who have been in a relationship for ten years, went to Willesden Sports Center in northwest London. A reporter working for The Times watched and took a series of photographs as Ohuruogu, Infantino and another male sprinter completed two 150m sprints as part of a training session. The reporter saw Infantino using cones to mark out the distance and calling for the sprint effort to begin.

At the completion of each of the two repetitions, Infantino also turned to speak to the two athletes and continued to act in a manner that suggested he was leading the session. The photographs certainly indicate as much.

World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) rules do not necessarily prohibit an athlete from training alongside a banned athlete, but under article 2.10 of the code an athlete is banned from association “in a professional or sport-related capacity with any athlete support person who . . . is serving a period of ineligibility”.

The Wada code defines an athlete support person as “any coach, trainer, manager, agent, team staff, official, medical, paramedical personnel, parent or any other person working with, treating or assisting an athlete participating in or preparing for sports competition”.

Ukad will not comment on any active investigation but it has asked The Times to share extensive photographic evidence and for an opportunity to interview the reporter who witnessed the training session.

Ohuruogu enjoyed a breakthrough season over 400m this year, lowering her best from 51.99sec to 50.50 and claiming a Commonwealth silver medal as well as relay bronze at the World Championships in Eugene and the European Championships in Munich. Before last year, when she broke 52 seconds for the first time, her best was 52.71.

Since the unexpected death in January 2021 of her long-term coach, Lloyd Cowan, UK Athletics states that she has been coached by her elder sister, Christine Ohuruogu, the former Olympic and world 400m champion who served a 12-month ban for missing three out-of-competition drug tests between 2005 and 2006. Representatives acting for the 2008 Olympic gold medallist, who was not seen at the track on Saturday, did not respond to a request for comment.

Her younger sister has also declined to comment but Infantino responded via email before following up with a conversation on the telephone.

“Victoria has been my partner for over ten years, and we live together and share a car,” he said. “I was running my own 150m session that Saturday. I still like to work out but have no intention of returning to track professionally.

“Vicky had a longer 400m session with her training partner, set by her coach [Christine]. As far as my lawyers have made me aware, I am allowed to be around Victoria, but not advise or support professionally. Christine has given Victoria her old training diaries and has done an incredible job since our old coach passed away last year.

“I do not wish for what happened with me to implicate her and we have been very careful for me not to be involved in any professional capacity. I do not coach, write the programme or advise in any sense. I was not at any of her major championships, as Christine attended these.”

The photographs show Infantino running alongside the training partner and then conversing with Ohuruogu shortly after they have finished the 150m sprint. The time stamp on the photographs proves that they had just run down the back straight of the track at precisely the same time.

Despite the reporter being able to hear Infantino, the Italian denied calling out for the sprinters to start each of the two efforts. He also explained that they trained at the track early on Saturday morning — when there were very few other athletes there — because of his work commitments.

“I didn’t want my own problems with the sport to impact her — and now this has,” he later added in a telephone conversation. “I believe I have been careful not to breach what I understand to be the rules.”

Infantino is banned from athletics until December 2024, having failed a drugs test in June last year. He nevertheless participated for Italy in the 200m at the Tokyo Games. He was initially suspended in December and in April the Italian anti-doping agency said he broke Wada rules relating to the “presence of a prohibited substance or its metabolites or markers in an athlete’s sample” and “use or attempted use by an athlete of a prohibited substance or prohibited method”.

On Thursday UK Athletics responded to seeing the photographs of Infantino and Ohuruogu with a statement saying: “Athletes who compete for GB & NI and members of the world-class programme receive regular anti-doping education which outlines their responsibilities towards clean athletics and adhering to the Wada code. We will be communicating with the athlete concerned to ascertain the facts before making any further comment.”