A British 5000m runner Andrew Butchart who was selected on Tuesday for Team GB for the Tokyo Olympics has put himself in trouble by stupid comments allegedly made on podcast which was quickly deleted. But the comments has now forced the British Athletics to put his selection under review.
The UK Athletics is now investigating claims Scottish runner Andrew Butchart faked a Covid-19 test in order to return to the UK after an international event.
Butchart allegedly said he changed the date on an earlier PCR test after a delay in getting results back before his flight to the UK.
However, in a statement released by his representative, Butchart said he had “never falsified a PCR test” and had “always complied with the guidelines of the countries I have been travelling in”.
“The context of the podcast was about how hard it has been for athletes during the pandemic to travel and race. I perhaps glorified the situation for the podcast and I apologise if it came across the wrong way and or causes any offence to anyone.”
In a statement, UK Athletics said it was “aware of comments” and that it “takes very seriously any suggestion that an athlete has not followed guidelines”.
It added: “As a result, this selection will stand subject to further investigation by UK Athletics. No further comment will be made until this investigation is concluded.”
