Ex-Soviet track coach pleads guilty in BALCO case

By Adam Tanner

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A Soviet-born track coach
admitted on Friday to distributing performance-enhancing drugs
to athletes, becoming the last of four men to plead guilty in
the BALCO steroid scandal that has shaken the world of sport.

Remi Korchemny, 73, admitted in U.S. federal court that he
had wrongly dispensed the prescription drug modafinil to an
athlete on July 4, 2002.

Korchemny pleaded guilty to one count but spoke of a wider
distribution.

“Steroids and stimulants, according to the names on the
boxes, I passed them on to athletes,” Korchemny told U.S.
District Court Judge Susan Illston.

Korchemny said the substances had come from BALCO founder
Victor Conte. Under a plea agreement, Korchemny will not serve
any time in prison for the misdemeanor.

Earlier this month, Conte and his deputy, as well as Greg
Anderson, personal trainer to baseball slugger Barry Bonds,
reached plea deals with prosecutors that will likely result in
short prison terms for Conte and Anderson.

In a series of court appearances since the indictments
early last year, Korchemny has appeared the most ill at ease of
the four men, giving little hint of his demanding and confident
competitive spirit.

FANATICAL COACHING

“Everyone I work with becomes fanatical and wants to get
better,” Korchemny told Reuters in 2003 before his indictment.
“If they don’t want to get fanatical, my philosophy is not
getting through.”

Korchemny has guided many top athletes from Soviet sprinter
Valeri Borzov, who won two gold medals in the 1972 Olympics in
Munich, to Britain’s Dwain Chambers, who was victorious in 100
meters 30 years later at the European championships.

Since the BALCO scandal became public in 2003, a number of
Korchemny’s proteges have been banned from sport, including
Chambers and U.S. sprinter Kelli White.

In addition, the Court of Arbitration for Sport is now
considering a lifetime ban for Chryste Gaines, the 1996 Olympic
4×100 meters relay gold medallist.

Born in Odessa, Ukraine, Korchemny’s father was killed in a
Stalinist purge, and he lived briefly in an orphanage.

From his hardscrabble youth, he turned to sport and became
a sprinter in the Soviet Army. He later turned to coaching but
emigrated to the United States when the detente era opened the
way for more Jews to leave the Soviet Union.

Before his indictment, Korchemny downplayed the impact his
association with BALCO would have on his legacy.

“As far as reputation, that’s the concern of a trainer who
is earning a salary and who’s interested in achieving
something. I’ve already achieved what I need to achieve,” he
said.

Judge Illston is scheduled to issue her sentences in the
four BALCO cases on October 18.