The full judgement of UK Anti-Doping that led to Sonny Webster’s four-year ban being extended by three additional years has been published.
UKAD ruled that Webster had breached the Prohibited Association rule by coaching three athletes who were registered with British Weightlifting. The coaching is described in the judgement as a mixture of online programming, online feedback on videos, face-to-face seminars and personal training sessions.
It appears that Webster did not deny coaching the athletes. He is quoted in the judgement as saying:
“it is a form of coaching in that I’m helping them improve their technique but it’s in the same way a PT session”
However, he does maintain that, as he did not coach any of the athletes in competition, he did not think he was breaking the rules.
A possible four-year extension of Webster’s ban was reduced by UKAD to three years, because he did not deny assisting the athletes, much of what he provided them was ‘generic assistance’ and he was open with the athletes about his banned status.
The new ban prevents Webster from competing in weightlifting until 2024.
It is unclear whether any action will be taken against the three athletes named in the judgement.