Treu dismisses doping allegations

Kenya Sevens rugby coach Paul Treu has dismissed claims linking the national team players to doping.

Treu said the allegations made about players using banned supplements have neither been substantiated nor has any player been tested by the agency making the claims.

The South Africa-born coach, who successfully coached the Springboks Sevens for nine years, was accused by an anti-doping task force set up by the Government of giving his players supplements and “concoctions that contained banned substances.”

Incidentally, when he took over as the national team coach in November 2013, Treu introduced a no-supplement policy in the team.

“When I arrived, players were taking supplements. We decided – as we had done in South Africa – not to endorse or advocate for the consumption of supplements of any kind and instead focus on proper nutrition,” Treu said.

The Government task force, led by Prof Moni Wekesa, completed its initial report in April this year. The report was recently handed over to the Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Arts and Culture, Hassan Wario.

Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) chairman, Mwangi Muthee in a statement released on Tuesday accused the task force of making unsubstantiated claims based on “shoddy and misinformed work,” saying its findings were “absolute rubbish.”

While questioning the credentials of members of the task force, Treu said the report lacks transparency. The International Rugby Board doesn’t recognise the agency.

“We know the risk of supplements as we know how easily they can cause athletes to fail tests,” Treu said. “During my time in South African rugby, we had a strict supplement policy, developed in conjunction with scientists and dieticians. That’s why when we came into the Kenyan Sevens set up, we tried to get rid of supplements,” he said.