Dougie Walker has been given a vote of confidence by the Scottish Athletics Federation (SAF) after being named in a 49strong preparation squad for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Walker, who won the 200 metres European Cup gold in 1998, promised to continue competing after a two-year ban was imposed for testing positive for nandrolone 23 months ago.
He had hoped that an appeal to the IAAF in the summer would allow him to compete in the Olympics in Sydney. But the IAAF upheld the ban leaving the Edinburgh-born sprinter frozen out of competitive action until his ban officially ended.
However the SAF have drafted him into the preparation squad for the Games in Manchester. "It is a huge boost for Dougie," said Walker's coach Dave Gibson. "His ban ends at the end of this month and he will be working very hard."
Italian women's shot putt champion Assunta Legnante has failed a dope test, it was announced in Rome yesterday.
The 24-year-old was found to have the substance sinefrine, a derivative of ephedrine and adrenaline, in her system during controls carried out during the national championships on September 6th, during which Legnante took the national title.
