United States 100m Olympic Sprinter Justin Gatlin (right) looks on as his coach Trevor Graham talks to students of Kingston College on North Street, downtown, Kingston, as part of a visit by the Jamaican Sprint coach Trevor Graham and his athletes to Jamaica on Monday, January 17, 2005. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
LONDON (AP):
Justin Gatlin's coach, Trevor Graham, could face a two-year ban if the Olympic and world champion sprinter is found guilty of a second doping violation, the sport's international governing body said yesterday.
"Once we have enough evidence to prove it, then we have the power to prosecute him," International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) spokesman Nick Davies said. "He would face a two-year suspension that is in line with the regulations of our anti-doping code."
Gatlin said Saturday he had been informed by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that he tested positive for testosterone or other steroids after a relay race in Kansas in April. He said he has never knowingly taken banned substances.
Trevor Graham is currently under investigation by authorities for his links to the BALCO doping case.
The IAAF will only act should evidence link Graham to any doping violations and USADA decides not to take action against him, Davies said.
Supplier
A man who worked with Graham told a San Francisco grand jury and investigators that he supplied performance-enhancing drugs to the coach and many of his athletes, including Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery, C.J. Hunter and Michelle Collins, the New York Times reported last week.
At least six athletes who trained under Graham have received doping suspensions. He has always denied direct knowledge or involvement.
Christos Tzekos, former coach of Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou, was suspended for four years in March 2005 by the Greek federation.
He was sanctioned for failing to properly notify the runners of a doping test, but was cleared on separate allegations of distributing banned substances.
Thanou and Kenteris were given two-year bans for missing drug tests before the 2004 Athens Olympics.
The IAAF said it gave little credence to Graham's claim that Gatlin was the victim of a massage therapist who rubbed testosterone cream on his legs without his knowledge.
"We have a strict liability rule that what's in your body is your responsibility, so unless there was an independent witness who saw everything clearly there really isn't a possibility that there would be something in that," Davies said.
If Gatlin is found guilty, he would face a life ban and the loss of the world 100-metre record.
He equalled Jamaican Asafa Powell's mark of 9.77 seconds in May, a month after the positive test.
Gatlin would keep his Athens 100-metre gold medal and world 100 and 200 titles from 2005.
Gatlin was suspended in 2001 after testing positive for an amphematine found in medication he was taking for attention deficit disorder.
The IAAF gave him early reinstatement, but said the suspension remained on his record and he would face a life ban for any second violation.
List of Graham's athletes suspended/probed in doping cases
Trevor Graham, coach of Olympic and world 100-metre champion Justin Gatlin, has worked with several athletes who were suspended or investigated in doping cases:
Justin Gatlin
Gatlin tied Asafa Powell's world record of 9.77 seconds in the 100 in May. He won the 100 at the 2004 Olympics and 100 and 200 at the 2005 World Championships. He also finished third in the 200 and won silver with the 4x100 relay team at Athens. Gatlin said on Saturday he tested positive for testosterone or other steroids after a relay race in Kansas in April. If found guilty, he faces a lifetime ban for a second offence. In college, he tested positive for a banned substance contained in medication for attention deficit disorder, and his original two-year ban was halved by the IAAF.
Marion Jones
Jones won five medals, including three gold, at the 2000 Olympics. Ex-husband and banned shot-putter C.J. Hunter and BALCO founder Victor Conte have both alleged she used performance-enhancing substances. She has never tested positive and firmly denied all accusations, but has been under scrutiny in the BALCO probe. Former boyfriend Tim Montgomery, father of her child, was banned on evidence in the BALCO scandal without failing a test.
Tim Montgomery
Montgomery ran 9.78 to break the 100 world record in September 2002, shaving 0.01 off Maurice Greene's time. Was charged by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in the BALCO scandal despite never failing a test. He received a two-year ban, was stripped of his world record and retired.
Dennis Mitchell
Mitchell won gold with the U.S. 4x100 relay team at the 1992 Olympics and bronze in the 100. He also won a 4x100 relay silver medal at Atlanta in 1996. In 1998, he was banned for two years after testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone.
C.J. Hunter
Hunter, ex-husband of Marion Jones, won gold in the shot put at the 1999 World Championships. He failed four tests for the steroid nandrolone in 2000 and missed the Sydney Olympics. He retired and was suspended for two years in 2001.
Jerome Young
Young won gold with the 4x400 U.S. relay team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He was stripped of his medal after it was revealed he tested positive for nandrolone in 1999. Young, the world 400 champion in 2003, was banned for life in 2004 after testing positive for EPO.
Alvin Harrison
Harrison won gold as part of U.S. relay teams at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. Though he never failed a test, he accepted a four-year ban in October 2004 after admitting using EPO, among other performance-enhancing drugs, in the BALCO scandal.
Calvin Harrison
Twin brother of Alvin, he won Olympic gold in the 4x400 U.S. relay team at Sydney 2000. He was suspended for two years in August 2004 after his second doping violation. He was found guilty of using the stimulant modafinil at the U.S. championships in June 2003. He also tested positive for the stimulant pseudoephedrine at the 1993 U.S. junior indoors and served a three-month ban.
Michelle Collins
Collins won the 200 titles at the 2003 world indoor and U.S. championships. She testified before the BALCO grand jury and her eight-year ban was reduced to four. USADA charged her with doping - including use of the steroid THG and EPO - based on patterns observed in her blood and urine tests and she was stripped of her titles.
Patrick Jarrett
The Jamaican sprinter, the only man to beat Maurice Greene in 2001, was banned for two years in 2001 after testing positive for steroid stanozolol at his national trials.
The IAAF said it gave little credence to Graham's claim that Gatlin was the victim of a massage therapist who rubbed testosterone cream on his legs without his knowledge.
