Names of Drug-Positive Athletes Released
Posted on: Tuesday, 30 December 2003, 06:00 CST
Capping a year of sports drug scandals, the U.S. Olympic Committee announced Tuesday that sprint champion Kelli White and six other American athletes tested positive for banned substances.
White and five other track and field athletes tested positive for the banned stimulant modafinil. Hammer thrower John McEwen tested positive for modafinil and the newly discovered steroid THG, and cyclist Adham Sbeih became the first U.S. athlete to test positive for the endurance-boosting hormone EPO.
The USOC announced the test results after the substances were found in two urine tests from each athlete, and following a review by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
All seven are challenging their test results, the USOC said in a news release from its base in Colorado Springs, Colo. Any suspensions or other penalties would come only after an arbitration process.
White already faces the loss of two world championship gold medals because of modafinil use. The USOC said Tuesday that White also tested positive for modafinil at the national championships in June, when she swept the 100 and 200 meters.
White said she was prescribed modafinil for a sleeping disorder - a claim ridiculed by international track officials after word emerged of other athletes using the banned stimulant.
Also testing positive for modafinil at the national track championships were sprinter Chryste Gaines and hurdlers Sandra Glover and Eric Thomas. Another hurdler, Chris Phillips, tested positive for modafinil at the world championships.
Modafinil use results in disqualification at the event at which a positive test has occurred, but no suspension. THG use can lead to a two-year ban. Sbeih, who tested positive for EPO at the national cycling championships in August, faces up to a two-year ban.
White and Gaines are coached by Remy Korchemny, who also coaches British sprinter Dwain Chambers, now facing a two-year suspension for THG. Phillips said Korchemny gave him a modafinil pill at the world championships to help him overcome jet lag.
At least five track and field athletes - including McEwen and Chambers - have tested positive for THG, and a source who requested anonymity has told The Associated Press that four Oakland Raiders also flunked THG tests.
The discovery of THG led to a grand jury probe in San Francisco. Athletes from at least five sports - including baseball sluggers Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi - appeared before the panel.
McEwen's attorney, Howard Jacobs, said the hammer thrower would consider working with the International Association of Athletics Federations, which floated an offer of leniency for drug cheaters who provide valuable information about doping. Jacobs said Tuesday that no such offer has yet been made by the IAAF.
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