IOC praises Johnson for returning medal
The International Olympic Committee lauded Michael Johnson for
voluntarily returning his gold medal in the 4x400-meter relay at the
2000 Sydney Olympics following the admission of doping by U.S. teammate
Antonio Pettigrew.
The IOC formally stripped the entire team of their medals on Saturday
because Pettigrew testified during the trial of his former coach in May
that he was using performance-enhancing drugs at the time of the Sydney
Games.
Johnson, who anchored the relay team in Sydney for the fifth and
final gold of his Olympic career, had already returned the medal after
Pettigrew's confession. IOC vice president Thomas Bach, head of the
committee's legal commission, said Johnson also sent a "very fair and
very strong statement that he constitutes this medal as being unfairly
won."
BEIJING, Tuesday, AP
|