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Saturday, May 3, 2008
U.S. Olympic champion Pettigrew part of government's witness list
American sprinter Antonio Pettigrew, who won gold in the 4x400 relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was on a government witness list filed Friday as someone who has used performance-enhancing drugs. Pettigrew is part of the U.S. government's case against track coach Trevor Graham. Graham has pleaded not guilty to three charges of making false statements to a government agency.
His trial is slated to start May 19. Pettigrew won four world championships between 1991 and 2001 and is currently an assistant track coach at North Carolina. It is believed that he has never been associated with doping allegations prior to Friday's government filing. Earlier this week, a federal judge denied prosecutor's requests to seal the witness list until the trial.
Pettigrew's lawyer, Xavier R. Donaldson, declined comment Friday on the specific nature of the government's filing but told The New York Times, "If the trial goes forward, it'll go forward, and whatever happens will happen." "Antonio is one of the best persons you'd hope to meet. That's why this whole situation is a sad one," Donaldson also told the newspaper. Pettigrew and fellow sprinter Dennis Mitchell were the only two athletes mentioned in the government filing as users of banned substances.
Mitchell, according to the government, will testify that Graham injected him with human growth hormone. Mitchell owns three medals from the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, including gold in the 4x100 relay in 1992. He earned a two-year suspension in 1998 after testing positive for high levels of testosterone.
Also mentioned on the witness list were two of Pettigrew's teammates on the winning 4x400 relay team in the 2000 Olympics: Jerome Young and Calvin Harrison. Both runners, according to the government's filing, were expected to testify that they received illicit drugs from Graham but there was no mention of whether or not either of them had actually used the performance-enhancing substances.
Young received a lifetime ban in 2004 for testing positive for drugs and Harrison's two year suspension in 2004 was the result of a positive test for a stimulant.
U.S. Olympic champion Pettigrew part of government's witness list
American sprinter Antonio Pettigrew, who won gold in the 4x400 relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was on a government witness list filed Friday as someone who has used performance-enhancing drugs. Pettigrew is part of the U.S. government's case against track coach Trevor Graham. Graham has pleaded not guilty to three charges of making false statements to a government agency.
His trial is slated to start May 19. Pettigrew won four world championships between 1991 and 2001 and is currently an assistant track coach at North Carolina. It is believed that he has never been associated with doping allegations prior to Friday's government filing. Earlier this week, a federal judge denied prosecutor's requests to seal the witness list until the trial.
Pettigrew's lawyer, Xavier R. Donaldson, declined comment Friday on the specific nature of the government's filing but told The New York Times, "If the trial goes forward, it'll go forward, and whatever happens will happen." "Antonio is one of the best persons you'd hope to meet. That's why this whole situation is a sad one," Donaldson also told the newspaper. Pettigrew and fellow sprinter Dennis Mitchell were the only two athletes mentioned in the government filing as users of banned substances.
Mitchell, according to the government, will testify that Graham injected him with human growth hormone. Mitchell owns three medals from the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, including gold in the 4x100 relay in 1992. He earned a two-year suspension in 1998 after testing positive for high levels of testosterone.
Also mentioned on the witness list were two of Pettigrew's teammates on the winning 4x400 relay team in the 2000 Olympics: Jerome Young and Calvin Harrison. Both runners, according to the government's filing, were expected to testify that they received illicit drugs from Graham but there was no mention of whether or not either of them had actually used the performance-enhancing substances.
Young received a lifetime ban in 2004 for testing positive for drugs and Harrison's two year suspension in 2004 was the result of a positive test for a stimulant.
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