Doping suspension for Welsh hurdler
European champion and 2010 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist withdraws from the Games after he was suspended.
European 400m hurdles champion Rhys Williams was ruled out of the Commonwealth Games after becoming the second Welsh athlete suspended for a doping offense this month.
Williams, co-captain of the Welsh track and field team, has been suspended from all competition after being charged with an anti-doping violation at the Glasgow Grand Prix on July 11. He finished sixth in the 400 hurdles at the Diamond League meet.
Details of the violation were not disclosed.
“I am utterly devastated about the news of this anti-doping rule violation, which has come as a great shock to me,” Williams said on his website. “From the outset, I would strongly like to state that I have not knowingly taken any banned substance. As a professional athlete, I have always supported and have been an advocate of clean sport.”
The 30-year-old Williams, son of Welsh rugby great J.J. Williams, won the European title in Helsinki in 2012 and bronze at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.