Tory MP Sebastian Coe today launched an attack on Linford Christie. He criticised the former Olympic champion after comments made by Christie in an interview.
In his Daily Telegraphcolumn, Coe, the golden boy of British athletics during the 1980s when he won two Olympic titles, criticises the former British team captain following Christie's latest outburst when he called the sport "corrupt".
"Christie had said in an interview: 'The sport is so corrupt now I would not want my child to do it.' Well, I hope my children do take up the sport. And I only hope they look long and hard before deciding on a role model." In the tough retort Coe - who was in the same British team as Christie for six years - claims Christie should take a long hard look at himself before casting aspersions.
"[Christie] would be well advised to do some soul-searching as he returns today from a two-year suspension after testing positive for nandrolone," wrote Coe.
"Christie's place as our greatest sprinter is unquestioned . . . but there has been controversy on the way."
Coe wrote: "Christie's captaincy of the British team was marked by continual conflict with team coaches - most notably high-profile and disfiguring arguments about the order of baton changes in the sprint relay.
"I sat in one team meeting when he made himself deliberately unintelligible to all but those who had a passing knowledge of jive, and if officialdom was to blame for anything, it was to turn a blind eye to his boorish behaviour and then making him team captain to buy some peace."
Coe claims Christie now sneers at the many anonymous "amateur" helpers who backed him and shared in his glory.
He also attacked Christie's behaviour at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta when the reigning champion was disqualified for two false starts.
"[Christie] gracelessly paraded himself before an Olympic final having false-started twice. In doing so, he seriously affected the chances of fellow competitors before being asked to leave the stadium."
PA