LONDON, Sept 27: Olympic heptathlon champion Denise Lewis is preparing to sever her ties with controversial German coach Dr Ekkart Arbeit.

The forecast split between the British athlete and Arbeit, condemned as a leading backroom figure in East Germany’s athletics regime of the 1970s and 1980s where there was a state-controlled doping programme, was announced by the Briton’s head coach, Frank Dick.

In an interview in Saturday’s Daily Telegraph Dick said: “I wrote to Denise last week suggesting that the situation might arise where it might be in her own best interests to look elsewhere.”

This follows Lewis’ failure to make an impact at last month’s World Championships in Paris, where she finished fifth.—AFP