Olympic relay medals in jeopardy

The International Olympics Committee will have the final say on whether Tyson Gay's 4x100m relay teammates will be stripped of their London Games medals in the wake of the sprinter's doping ban, the IAAF said.

Gay received a one-year suspension on Friday after testing positive for a banned anabolic steroid in 2013. All his results from July 2012 onwards have been wiped out and he has already returned his relay silver medal to the US Olympic Committee.

Still to be determined is whether his teammates - Trell Kimmons, Justin Gatlin and Ryan Bailey - will also lose the silver medals they won at the 2012 London Games.

"Although our rules say clearly 'team forfeits medals', the IOC has control of the medals for the Olympics," said Nick Davies, deputy secretary general for the International Association of Athletics Federations.

Athletics competitors must follow rules of the IAAF in the Olympics, but the IOC has the final say on matters involving medals.

Gay was banned by the US Anti-Doping Agency subject to appeal by the IAAF or the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Davies said the IAAF would reserve comment on Gay's suspension until its doping review board had a chance to see the judgment from USADA and either accepted or rejected the reduced sanction.

Gay, the second fastest man of all-time, could have been suspended for two years for his first doping offence but received a shorter ban because of his substantial assistance in the investigation of his case, the USADA said.

The American 100m record holder is eligible to race again beginning June 23 and is making plans to return to competition in July.

(China Daily 05/06/2014 page23)