U.S. Loses Men’s Relay Medals from Sydney Olympics

The medals will go back: the U.S. men’s 4X400 relay team in Sydney. Pettigrew is at the far left.(Getty)(ATR) The IOC is ordering the return of the gold medals won by the U.S. men’s 4x400 relay team at the Sydney Olympics following the admission of Antonio Pettigrew that he doped for those Games.

The IOC Executive Board meeting in Beijing Saturday voted to strip the medals from the team. Pettigrew is the third of the six member squad to be tainted by doping.

“We fully support the action taken today by the IOC,” says USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel.

“Based upon the admission offered by Mr. Pettigrew, the medals were won unfairly and should be returned,” says Seibel.

Pettigrew admitted that he had doped while on the witness stand in May in a trial involving former coach Trevor Graham.

He is the third member of that relay team to be implicated in doping.

Michael Johnson, who ran the anchor leg of the race and has remained free of scandal, returned his medal in July, saying he wanted no part of the tainted results.

The stripping of the medals for the men’s team follows a similar punishment handed down last year by the IOC for the U.S. women’s relay team in Sydney after Marion Jones admitted to doping.

IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies says no decision has been made about whether to re-distribute Antonio Pettigrew admits to doping before, during and after the Sydney Games. He’s now a track coach in the U.S. (Getty)the medals from the men’s race, pending further review of an IOC Disciplinary Commission. That commission is studying the aftermath of the BALCO designer steroid scandal and has not concluded its work.

The team from Nigeria is next in line for the gold medal.

In another case under review by the commission, Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou could find out on August Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou waits for word from the IOC on her eligibility in Beijing. (Getty)7 if she will be allowed to compete in the Beijing Olympics. That’s the date set for the IOC commission to review her Beijing eligibility.

She served a two year suspension after missing drug tests ahead of the Athens Olympics, resigning from the Greek team to avoid expulsion from the Games by the IOC.

IOC President Jacques Rogge has said Thanou should not be allowed to compete in Beijing as a result of that doping infraction.

In addition to this matter involving Thanou, the IOC is still considering whether to award her the gold medal for the 100m in Sydney. She finished second to Jones, who relinquished all of her medals to the IOC last year with her admission of doping. A decision on this issue is not expected for a few more months.

Written by

Ed Hula

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