Posted: December 14, 2005

Athletics: Montgomery, Gaines Handed Two-Year Bans, Testimony By White Was Critical

By Bob Ramsak, Track Profile

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AMSTERDAM -- Former 100 meter world record holder Tim Montgomery and three-time World Championships sprint relay gold medallist Chryste Gaines were handed two-year bans today after the American pair were found guilty of doping violations by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The findings against both Montgomery and Gaines, who had never failed a drugs test, were based upon evidence gathered in conjunction with the U.S. federal investigation of the Balco Lab and its founder Victor Conte. One year ago, U.S. sprinter Michelle Collins, who won the 200 meter title at the World Indoor Championships in 2003, was also handed a ban based upon non-analytical findings.

The bans for both Montgomery and Gaines begin on 6 June 2005, the day that their hearings began. Additionally, all of Montgomery's performances from 31 March 2001, including his 9.78 world record dash in 2002 and his silver medal in the 100 meters at the 2001 World Championships will be annulled. For Gaines, all performances since 30 November 2003 will be erased. Both dates were determined by CAS as the dates in which they admitted to using the then-unknown THG, or "the clear."

The CAS decisions are final, and cannot be appealed.

The ruling was based largely upon testimony given by sprinter Kelli White, who herself is waiting out a ban for her involvement in the Balco saga. White, who won the 2003 world titles in the 100 and 200 meters, was later implicated in the Balco investigation and subsequently suspended from competition. According to the 27-page finding in the Montgomery case and the 28-page report on the Gaines case issued by CAS, White's testimony by itself was enough to find both guilty.

White testified that Montgomery asked her about THG "in March 2001, while at an international meet in Portugal." While White didn't provide a date, this was presumably the World Indoor Championships in Lisbon where both athletes competed. "Mr. Montgomery asked Ms. White, 'Does it make your calves tight?'" the report read. "Ms. White responded in the affirmative. Mr. Montgomery, still in her presence, then placed a telephone call to someone who may or may not have been Mr. Conte (Ms. White believes that it was Mr. Conte) to whom he relayed the information that 'he said that it makes her calves tight too'."

[Note: The only international meeting that took place in Portugal in March 2001 in which both Montgomery and White competed was the World Indoor Championships. Despite White's apparent failure to mention the specific date on which they spoke, it's somewhat baffling that the CAS couldn't add that easily determinable element into the puzzle; not doing so will apparently enable Montgomery to keep his silver medal in the 60 meters from those championships.]

In the Gaines case, White, who trained with Gaines from 2000 to 2003, recounted several conversations the pair had regarding Balco, Conte and several drugs, including THG. In one conversation which took place soon after Gaines testified before the federal Grand Jury investigating Balco, Gaines told White "she admitted that she used it, but it made her gain weight, so she stopped using it – stopped taking it."

Neither Montgomery nor Gaines provided any evidence to refute White's claims, leaving CAS to conclude that the testimony was indeed true.

Both sprinters must also forfeit all prize money and appearance payments they may have earned during the period in question. For Montgomery in particular, those payments will have been substantial, considering his "price tag" as the world record holder in 2003. In 2002, Montgomery earned at least $338,500 in prize money alone, according to TPR's exclusive annual prize money survey. The late date of Gaines's forfeiture will spare her substantial prize money earnings in 2003, which totalled at least $210,392.

When White accepted her suspension last year, she agreed to assist with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in efforts to clean up the sport in the wake of the Balco scandal. Her suspension ends on 16 May 2006.

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