Pettigrew agrees to return 2000 relay gold medal
Antonio Pettigrew agreed yesterday to return the Olympic relay gold medal he won in 2000 after admitting to doping during the Sydney Games.
Antonio Pettigrew
agreed yesterday to return the Olympic relay gold medal he won in 2000 after admitting to doping during the Sydney Games.
During last month's trial involving former track coach Trevor Graham, Pettigrew came clean about using EPO and human growth hormone from 1997 to 2003. Graham was found guilty of lying to federal investigators about his relationship to a steroids dealer.
Pettigrew's decision to give up the gold for the 1,600-meter relay was expected, considering his testimony in the Graham trial.
After brief negotiations with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the agreement was made public. Pettigrew gave back the medal and all the other prizes he'd earned since 1997, including world championships in the 4 x 400 relays in 1997 and 1999.
The 40-year-old assistant track coach at North Carolina also accepted a 2-year ban from track, though that point is largely symbolic given his age.
In other Olympic news:
* British sprinter Dwain Chambers will challenge his lifetime ban by the British Olympic Association at London's High Court in a bid to compete in Beijing. Chambers completed a 2-year ban by the International Association of Athletics Federations for testing positive for the steroid THG. The British Olympic Association has a lifetime Olympic ban on athletes with a serious doping violation.
* Ashley Harkleroad will turn down a berth on the U.S. Olympic tennis team to focus on improving her ranking during the summer hard-court season.
Sport Stops
* Brian Keith Patch, a 36-year-old skateboarder who starred at the X Games, will be arraigned in Orange County, Calif., today on a charge of having sex with a 15-year-old girl.
* Max Mosley overcame a sex scandal and won a vote of confidence to remain president of motor racing's governing body.
* Syracuse's top receiver, Mike Williams, was suspended for academic reasons and is no longer enrolled at the school.
* Katie Burkhart threw a four-hitter, Kaitlin Cochran hit a three-run home run and Arizona State earned its first Women's College World Series title with an 11-0 win against Texas A & M in Oklahoma City.
Philly File
* Frankford High wing guard Malik Tinsley (Odessa, in Texas), point guard Malik Ballard (West Hills, in California) and small forward Khayree Brown (Beaver County, in Pennsylvania) have made commitments to play junior college basketball.
* Villanova announced that basketball forward Taylor King has enrolled after transferring from Duke. *