Football
Associated Press 20y

Britain Worlds medal is stripped

MONTE CARLO, Monaco -- Britain was stripped of its silver
medal in the 400-meter relay at last year's world championships on
Thursday after Dwain Chambers decided not to appeal his two-year
doping ban.

Chambers, the European 100-meter champion, tested positive for
THG last summer and was handed a two-year ban by track and field's
governing body on Feb. 24. He declined to appeal to the Court of
Arbitration for Sport.

The International Association of Athletics Federations said
Thursday that Britain would forfeit the relay silver medal from the
world meet in Paris in August. Chambers ran the anchor leg in the
relay. Christian Malcolm, Darren Campbell and Marlon Devonish were
the other runners.

The United States won the relay gold medal. Brazil replaces
Britain as the silver medalist, with the Netherlands taking bronze.

Emily Lewis, spokeswoman for UK Athletics, said the organization
and the runners were "always aware that in this situation the
performance of the whole squad at the IAAF world championships
would be annulled, and we accept that decision."

The IAAF said all of Chambers' performances would be annulled
from the date of his positive test -- Aug. 1, 2003. The
out-of-competition test took place during training in Germany.

Also voided were Chambers' fourth-place finish in the 100 meters
at the world championships, and his fourth place in the 100 at the
World Athletics Final on Sept. 13.

Chambers' ban lasts until Nov. 6, 2005. Under British Olympic
Association rules, he is also banned for life from the Olympics.

The 25-year-old sprinter blamed his positive THG test on
nutritional supplements he said were provided by the Bay Area
Laboratory Co-Operative in California, which is at the center of an
alleged steroid-distribution ring.

Newspaper reports last weekend linked five-time Olympic champion
Marion Jones and her boyfriend, 100-meter world record-holder Tim
Montgomery, to BALCO and its founder Victor Conte.

Quoting unidentified sources, newspapers reported that Conte
told U.S. federal agents he gave steroids to Jones and Montgomery.
The athletes and Conte deny the claims.

THG was unmasked last summer when the UCLA doping control lab
developed a test for it. Chambers and four American track and field
athletes tested positive for the steroid, as did four NFL players.

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