Ananova:

Ato Boldon, who is gunning for gold in the 100m and 200m in Sydney, has called for an end to what he calls a "witch-hunt" against Linford Christie.

Christie is serving a two-year ban after testing positive for the banned substance nandrolone and is not permitted to coach his athletes in Sydney, a role he has handed to his own mentor Ron Roddan.

Instead Christie has been preparing sprint star Darren Campbell and 400 metres runners Jamie Baulch and Katherine Merry away from the main British team on the Gold Coast.

Christie, who also managers Dwain Chambers and Christian Malcolm, is also finding that fellow agents are making it difficult for him to get his athletes into the right races to prepare them for the Games.

Trinidad and Tobago sprinter Boldon believes Christie should be allowed to give his athletes the preparation they need free of restrictions.

"That can only happen if this business of a continual witch-hunt against him (Christie) finishes," said Boldon. "It seems that people are just after him all the time."

"The witch-hunt against Linford should stop. Maybe he thinks a lot of people are out to get him but the nandrolone business is crazy.

"Everyone talks about it being a sophisticated drug but having read up on nandrolone it's so easy to detect.

"If that's the case then nobody in their right mind would take it - there's certainly no reason for Linford to.

"If the people conducting this witch-hunt against him would finally get off his back he will succeed.

"He's got everything a successful coach needs and he can go right to the top."

Christie may be surprised that support is coming from the 1997 world 200m champion with whom he had a heated disagreement during the Olympic 100m final four years.

On a tense night, which saw Christie disqualified for two false starts, the pair came close to a punch-up as the defending champion saw his hopes of a second gold medal shattered when trying to beat the gun.

But Boldon, winner of bronze medals in both the 100m and 200m in Atlanta, does not hold a grudge and admires Christie's coaching abilities.

"Linford has the kind of tremendous ability that few others have," he said. "After all, he won that Olympic gold in Barcelona and what better pedigree can you have than that?"

Boldon admits he will never forget how he and Christie nearly came to blows when the Briton held up the 1996 Olympic final after being red carded by the track referee.

Even after the race, won by Canada's Donovan Bailey, they clashed off the track, with the Briton throwing his spikes into a dustbin and glowering at his younger rival.

Boldon, then a fledgling 22-year-old, believes the lack of concentration their row caused cost him the gold medal, but insists it is now water under the bridge.

Boldon said: "That's all over with now. We're still friends and I just wish him the best of luck. This whole nandrolone business is hanging over him and that's wrong."

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