Callum Priestley (born 13 February 1989) is a

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former

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete who specialised in sprint

hurdling Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

. He was banned after a positive sample for banned substances, namely clenbuterol, was found in a urine sample whilst training with the UK team in South Africa in January 2010. Despite evidence of tainted food, the ban was upheld. Subsequent to the ban, Priestley retired from competitive athletics. He began competing in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

while at school and finished second in the

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten ...

at the 2005

English Schools' Athletic Association The English Schools' Athletics Championships are annual national athletics competitions organised by the English Schools' Athletic Association ESAA for students in England aged 12–18 for track and field, cross country and race walking. The ...

Championships. Progressing through the ranks at youth level, he represented Great Britain at the

2007 European Athletics Junior Championships The 19th European Athletics Junior Championships were held between 19 and 22 July 2007 at the FBK-Stadium in Hengelo, in the eastern Netherlands. Medal summary Men Women Medal table See also *2007 in athletics (track and field) ...

and reached the hurdles final, although he did not finish the race.Callum Priestley Profile
Power of 10. Retrieved on 2010-09-03. The 2009 season proved to be a breakthrough at national level as he took third in the

60 metres hurdles 60 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling which is generally run in indoor competitions. It is equivalent with the first 5 hurdles of a standard outdoor hurdle race. The current women's and men's world records are 7.68 seconds (Susanna Ka ...

at the UK Indoor Championships. He followed this with second-place finishes outdoors at the England U23 Championships and the UK World Trials/National Championships.Kessel, Anna (2010-03-05)
Callum Priestley suspended after positive drugs test
''

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''. Retrieved on 2010-09-03. At the

2009 European Athletics U23 Championships The 7th European Athletics U23 Championships were held between 16 and 19 July 2009 in the S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium in Kaunas, Lithuania. Complete results and medal winners were published. Men's results Women's results Medal tabl ...

he won the bronze medal behind

Artur Noga Artur Noga (born 2 May 1988 in Racibórz) is a Polish athlete. He mainly competes in the 110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at ...

and compatriot

Gianni Frankis Gianni Frankis (born 16 April 1988) is a British-born Italian athlete specialising in the sprint hurdles. He represented Great Britain at the 2009 World Championships without advancing from the first round. In addition, he won several medals at ...

, running a personal best time of 13.63 seconds. A win at the McCain UK Challenge Final in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

meant he earned a share of the £5000 jackpot as he won his race and topped the event rankings in the national competition. He gained lottery funding at the end of the year as part of the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

development programme.British hurdler Callum Priestley given drugs ban

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(2010-09-03). Retrieved on 2010-09-03. The next season, he became the national champion indoors with a 60 m hurdles win in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

.Broadbent, Rick (2010-03-05)
Callum Priestley fails test in blow to Britain’s stand on drugs
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

''. Retrieved on 2010-09-03. Following the victory, he went to train in the

UK Athletics UK Athletics (UKA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics (sport), athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics o ...

winter camp in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

that February. There he failed an out-of-competition drugs test, after the prohibited substance

clenbuterol Clenbuterol is a sympathomimetic amine used by sufferers of breathing disorders as a decongestant and bronchodilator. People with chronic breathing disorders such as asthma use this as a bronchodilator to make breathing easier. It is most commo ...

was found in his system. He claimed he ingested the substance unintentionally. Additionally he claimed that he and a number of athletes in the team came down with food poisoning. The team doctor attended and confirmed his symptoms. Disillusioned with the sport following his ban, he did not return to the sport after its conclusion.

References

Priestley's full Press Release
athletics-weekly.com.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Priestley, Callum 1989 births Living people English male hurdlers Doping cases in athletics English sportspeople in doping cases Black British sportsmen