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September 5, 2008 6:12:36 PM CDT

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US Sprinter Giving Back Gold Over Teammate's Doping

Posted Jun 3, 08 1:12 PM CDT in Sports 

(Newser) – Record-setting US sprinter Michael Johnson will give back one of his Olympic gold medals after Antonio Pettigrew, a teammate in the 1,600-meter relay during the 2000 Sydney Games, admitted to doping. Pettigrew's admission at a trial last month “shocked me like no other drug-related story,” Johnson writes in today’s Daily Telegraph. “I feel cheated, betrayed, and let down.”

“As difficult as it is, I will be returning it to the International Olympic Committee, because I don’t want it,” Johnson, who still holds world records in the 200 and 400 meters, wrote of the tainted prize. Johnson and Pettigrew fought to keep their medals when teammate Jerome Young tested positive in 1999, though Young ran only in preliminary rounds.

Sources: Associated Press, Daily Telegraph (UK), Daily Telegraph (UK)

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"As difficult as it is, I will be returning it to the International Olympic Committee because I don't want it," Johnson wrote of his Sydney relay gold. "I feel cheated, betrayed and let down."   (Getty Images)
Michael Johnson, front right, says he'll give back the gold medal he won at the 2000 Sydney Games with the US 1,600-meter relay team after Antonio Pettigrew, front left, admitted to doping.   (AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle, File)
An Olympic gold medal is seen in this file photo.   (Getty Images)
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gold medal  • International Olympic Committee  • 2000 Sydney Olympics  • Trevor Graham  • Antonio Pettigrew  • Michael Johnson


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