Young - Reuters SAINT-DENIS, France (AP):
INTERNATIONAL TRACK officials have a "duty" to take action in the case of American sprinter Jerome Young's alleged positive steroid test, the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency said yesterday.
Young, meanwhile, denied ever committing a doping offence.
Dick Pound, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said Young's reported admission of a failed test in 1999 bolsters the case for stripping the US 4x400 metre relay team of its 2000 Olympic gold medal.
Young, the 400m gold medal winner at the World Championships this week, was quoted in the Los Angeles Times yesterday as acknowledging that he tested positive but competed in the Sydney Games after being cleared on appeal by US track authorities.
"Yes, it's something that happened," Young was quoted as saying. "I've moved on. It's something I don't want to talk about. It's something that's a closed door."
Young issued a statement yesterday contesting the interpretation of his remarks.
"Since I won the 400m on Tuesday night, some journalists have asked me about the impact of recent news stories on my outlook at the World Championships," he said. "I have responded by saying that the stories have happened, I've put them behind me and moved on.
"I wish to make clear that I have never committed a doping offence."
Young's statement stopped short of denial that he was the previously unidentified athlete who was exonerated of a drug offence and went on to win a gold medal in Sydney.
Interviewed yesterday by The Associated Press at a practice track in Paris, Young declined to address the allegations.
"I can't talk about that, I don't want to comment on that," he said. "I'm just here to race. ... I just want to keep focusing on my race."
Young is to run in the 4x400m relay at the world meet this weekend.
Pound, who contends the allegations against Young have "shattered" the legitimacy of the US victory, insisted there is enough information to reopen the case and strip the team of the medals.
"Now that the name is out and you have an acknowledgment of the athlete involved, I think that's everything you need," he told the AP by telephone from Montreal. "The IAAF is in a position to act. It has both the means and the duty to act."
