TRACK AND FIELD Edwards tests positive for stimulant
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Torri Edwards, the second-place finisher in the women's 100 meters in the U.S. Olympic track and field trials, has tested positive for a banned stimulant, the sport's governing body said today.
Edwards tested positive for nikethamide at a meet in Fort-de-France, Martinique, in April, International Association of Athletics Federations spokesman Nick Davies said.
Analysis of her backup B sample confirmed the positive result, he said.
Edwards' status for the Athens Olympics will be determined at a hearing Monday in the United States, Davies said.
Under international rules, sanctions for use of stimulants range from a public warning to a two-year ban.
Edwards' positive test was first reported by the Chicago Tribune. The New York Times and The Washington Post also reported Edwards had tested positive, quoting unidentified sources.
Won world title
The 27-year-old Edwards was awarded the gold medal in the 100 in 2003 world championships after Kelli White, another U.S. sprinter, was stripped of the title this year. White has been suspended from competition for two years after admitting using steroids and several other banned substances.
Edwards also moved from third to second in the world 200 finish because White lost her gold medal in that event, too.
Spokesmen for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and U.S. Olympic Committee said they had no comment on the reports.
Edwards' coach, John Smith, and her manager, Emanuel Hudson, did not return telephone calls Wednesday night.
The sport in the United States already had been rocked by doping accusations against six athletes. The USOC has vowed to take a "clean" team to the Athens Olympics.
Four of the athletes, including world 100 record holder Tim Montgomery, face lifetime bans after USADA accused them of doping violations, even though none has tested positive.