Pettigrew banned, to return medal

BEIJING, June 5 -- Former U.S. sprinter Antonio Pettigrew will return the Olympic relay gold medal he won in 2000 after admitting to doping during the Sydney Games.

The 40-year-old assistant track coach at University of North Carolina also accepted a two-year ban from athletics, though that point is largely symbolic given his age. He retired from track in 2002.

During last month's trial involving former athletics 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 4x400-meter relay was expected, considering his testimony in the Graham trial.

After brief negotiations with the US 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 4x400 relays in 1997 and 1999.

Pettigrew's decision came a day after one of his relay teammates in Sydney, Michael Johnson, said he would give his medal back in the wake of Pettigrew's testimony.

"I feel cheated, betrayed and let down," Johnson wrote in a column in Tuesday's Daily Telegraph.

IOC officials said they will seek official verification of Pettigrew's admission and wait for the International Association of Athletics Federations to nullify the US gold medal result. After that, the IOC could officially disqualify the team and strip all the medals.

The IOC would then also consider whether to upgrade the Nigerian team, which finished second, to the gold medal. Jamaica is in line to be bumped up to silver and the Bahamas to bronze.

Pettigrew's testimony means that three of the four runners from the US relay team in the 2000 Olympic finals have been tainted by drugs.

Twins Alvin and Calvin Harrison both were suspended for doping violations. Alvin Harrison accepted a four-year ban in 2004 after admitting he used performance enhancers.