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| Monday, 1 September 2003 |
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Black mark for athlete White Dinesh Weerawansa reporting from France PARIS, Sunday - The United States failed to secure the gold medal in the women's 4 x 100m relay of the 9th IAAF World Championship after their new sprint queen Kelli White was tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. White, the golden girl of the United States, was yesterday tested positive, shocking all on the penultimate day of the championships at the Stade France, Saint Denis. A sample provided by the American lass White, who recalled the makings of the American super woman Marion Jones with a grand sprint double here, has been tested positive for a banned steroid. Though White could have run in the 4 x 100m relay final pending the outcome of her 'B' urine sample, she voluntarily opted out for reasons better known to her. The world governing body - IAAF, said a urine sample taken from White after winning the 100m final, has been tested positive for Modafinil. The IAAF is yet to receive the results of the analysis on her sample provided after the 200m final. "We have received an explanation from the athlete to the following effect; White has been taking the substance on prescription to treat a medical condition that runs in her family. As both the nature of the substance and the content of her explanation require further inquiry and investigation, the IAAF has taken the view that bearing in mind the very serious consequences for the athlete of being suspended and being removed from competition at this late stage, the most appropriate course of action is to allow her to compete pending the completion of the necessary scientific and factual investigations," the IAAF statement said. The 26-year-old Californian lass won both 100m and 200m gold medals at the current World Championships and did not let the US feel the absence of Olympic triple gold medallist Jones, who is taking a year off after giving birth to her first baby. But White may lose the gold medals if she is found guilty after a further investigation by the International Assn. of Athletics Federation, the sport's world governing body. She also would forfeit $120,000, $60,000 for each victory, in prize money from the IAAF. Dr. Arne Ljungqvist, IAAF senior vice-president (Sweden) and the chairman of the organisation's Anti-Doping Commission, said the American woman sprinter's drug test from the 200 final Thursday night has not been evaluated. But he speculated that, considering the amount of time the substance remains in the system, the second test would be positive. Regardless, a doping offence from the 100 would erase all of her subsequent results in the meet. White, speaking at a news conference last night said that she has been taking Provigil with a prescription for narcolepsy for several months under a doctor's supervision. "Close members of my family have been under doctor's care for the condition of narcolepsy for year," she said, reading from a prepared statement. "I, too, have been diagnosed with this condition by my physician. "He prescribed the drug Provigil for this condition and I have taken it in certain circumstances, including prior to the 100 metres. It has improved the condition in my day-to-day life and helped me function normally." Mark Gay, the IAAF's legal counsel they would go through the explanation given by White. Modafinil is not on the banned list of either the IAAF or the World Anti-Doping Agency, but, as a performance-enhancing stimulant, Ljungqvist said it is considered a related substance that can result in disqualification. "White has obviously violated IAAF rules when she failed to disclose before the 100 metres that she was taking that drug. She did, he said, list other substances, supplements, which were not revealed in her drug test," he said. |
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