US women's relay team set to lose 2004 Olympic gold medal

The International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) will recommend that the US women's 4x400m relay team be stripped of its 2004 Olympic gold medal because of the suspension for doping of relay alternate Crystal Cox, IAAF spokesperson Nick Davies said on Monday.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has begun a disciplinary procedure involving Cox and the US relay team, and the IAAF council agreed that the team's result should be disqualified under its 2004 rules, Davies told reporters after a council meeting in Doha, Qatar.

If the IOC accepts the IAAF recommendation, Russia would become the new Olympic champion and Jamaica would move up to the silver medal.

Cox was suspended for four years in January by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and all her competitive results since 2001 were disqualified because she used banned anabolic agents and hormones between 2001 and 2004, the agency said.

Cox ran in the preliminary round of the 2004 Olympics with the team of Monique Henderson, Monique Hennagan, Sanya Richards, and Deedee Trotter later winning the final.

All would lose their gold medals under IAAF rules in place at the time.

Cox later denied using performance-enhancing drugs, saying in an email to family and friends that she was innocent but signed the sanction because she did not have the financial resources to fight the charges.

If the US team is stripped of the gold medal because of Cox's suspension, it would be the fourth Olympic relay medal an American team has lost because of doping.

The IOC stripped the 2000 Olympics US women's 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams of their bronze and gold medals, respectively, because of doping admissions by sprinter Marion Jones.

Jones's teammates have appealed against the decision.

The IOC also took the 2000 Sydney Games gold medals of the US men's 4x400 relay team that included Michael Johnson because of doping violations by Jerome Young and Antonio Pettigrew.

The IAAF also decided to deny suspended former Olympic champion sprinter Justin Gatlin's request for early reinstatement, Davies said.

The decision means Gatlin will not be eligible to return to competition until July 25. He is serving a four-year suspension for a 2006 positive test for the male sex hormone testosterone.