Athletics: Silver lining for our relay boys

BRITAIN'S innocent sprinters who were stripped of their World Championship medals after Dwain Chambers's positive test for steroids could be set for some good news.

Top officials from the world governing body, the IAAF, meet in Italy today to decide finally what to do about the five-year-old drugs case of Jerome Young.

The runner helped the US team to Olympic gold in the 4x400m event in Sydney in 2000 - when he should have been banned for a positive drug test in 1999.

In the build-up to the Sydney Olympics, US officials decided to take no action in more than 20 drug-cheat cases. But they cleared Young to take part in the Games, where he ran in the heat and semi- final of the 4x400m relay, setting up the squad anchored by world record-holder Michael Johnson to take gold in the final.

Young has never served any suspension for using banned anabolic steroids, and in Paris last August he won the 400m world title.

But last month, the international sports court ruled that Young should never have been allowed to race in Sydney. The court ruled that American officials' decision on Young was "capricious and one which no tribunal, properly directing itself, could have reached".

The court left the ruling on whether or not to strip the American team of their Sydney gold medals to the IAAF council, including Britain's Sebastian Coe, which is meeting today.

The IAAF have three options. They could do nothing and let the Americans keep their Olympic title. Or they could strip the US squad of their gold medals - just as they did earlier this year to the British sprint relay squad of Chambers, Marlon Devonish, Christian Malcolm, Mark Lewis-Francis and Darren Campbell.

That decision came as a result of Chambers' positive drug test ahead of the 2003 World Championships, where the discredited European 100m champion anchored the British team to a silver medal.

But the third and final option being considered by athletics chiefs is to punish only Young and let Johnson and the rest of the American relay runners keep their medals.

"We should just strip them all of their medals," an insider told Sunday Mirror Sport. "But it looks like the Americans are going to argue that only Young should lose his medal."

If world athletics chiefs choose to do that, it could set a precedent that would allow the British sprinters - who feel they have been unfairly treated over the Chambers affair - to be reunited with their silver medals.

Devonish said last night: "I was there, I ran in a world final and I stood on the podium to collect my medal, and no one can ever take that experience away from me. But if they were to do this with the Americans, then if we were allowed to appeal against losing our medals we would have a good chance."

Mark Lewis-Francis, who ran in the relay heats, is also encouraged by the possibility of a reprieve. He said: "I would be delighted if the IAAF had a policy that meant relay runners did not lose their medal just because a team-mate had failed a drugs test.

"I worked hard for my Paris medal, and I want to keep it."

BRITAIN'S Olympic hopefuls will compete as a team for the last time before Athens at the Norwich Union International in Birmingham next week (Sunday July 25). For tickets phone 0870 402 8000 or go online at www.ukathletics.net.

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