London - The former world champion sprinter, Linford Christie, broke down at the High Court yesterday as he launched a libel action over claims that he cheated his way to the top by using banned performance-enhancing drugs.
Christie (38), the 1992 Olympic 100m gold medal winner, fell silent and then started weeping with emotion five minutes after he went into the witness box.
Mr Christie, of Sherland Road, Twickenham, south-west London, is suing the former armed robber turned author, John McVicar, over an article, "How did Linford get this good?", which appeared in the satirical magazine, Spiked, in September 1995.
It was in the first issue of the fortnightly publication, which also carried a front-page joke about the Tory Defence Secretary, Mr Michael Portillo, which, Mr Christie's QC, Mr Patrick Moloney, said, suggested Mr Portillo "fancied a soldier", and contained a cartoon suggesting that Prince Andrew might have AIDS.