Retired Greene refutes doping link

Published on Monday 14 April 2008 23:54

SPRINTER Maurice Greene has denied reports linking him to performance- enhancing drugs, describing the claims as "messed up".

According to a report in the New York Times, the American – who won the 100 metres gold medal at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 – was one of 12 athletes named by former discus thrower Angel Guillermo Heredia as having been supplied with banned substances.

Four of the 12 athletes, including Marion Jones, have already been named and barred from competition for illicit drug use. Eight of the 12 – including Greene – have never been previously linked to performance-enhancing drugs.

Greene, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and a five-time world champion, has never failed a drug test.

The 33-year-old retired in February and is an ambassador for the International Association of Athletics Federations.

Greene was reported as saying: "This is a bad situation for me. My name's come up in something and it's not true.

"This is real messed up. It's an embarrassing situation. I have met him before and when he was talking to me, I told him I don't believe in this stuff.

"I have met with a lot of people who wanted me to try this and that. Everyone wanted me to work with them.

"But me getting anything or doing anything? I have not.

"My stance has always been that there is no place in our sport for drug users. I have always said that you should be banned for life if you come up positive even once. I stand by that."

Heredia, who is the main witness in the case against Trevor Graham – coach of Jones, Greene and others – will testify that Graham supplied illicit drugs and advice on their use to his camp of elite athletes as well as to many other sprinters and their coaches.

Heredia has claimed he supplied banned substances to Graham and his athletes.

Track and field's world governing body threw its support behind Greene yesterday.

"None of this is new," International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) spokesman Nick Davies said.

Davies said the IAAF would continue to use Greene as one of its goodwill ambassadors to promote the sport in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics.

"With every ambassador we do an immediate check with the doping department," Davies said at IAAF headquarters in Monaco. "In this case, they said, no we don't have anything.

"I read about this guy (Heredia) and this rumour four years ago," Davies said.

Citing court filings, the New York Times said that Heredia, identified as Source A in the felony indictment, agreed to be a cooperating witness when investigators confronted him with evidence of his own drug trafficking and money laundering.

Davies said the US Anti-Doping Agency had been looking into the link for years without finding proof. "If it was Maurice, it was not enough to even interest USADA, who are very interested," he said.

Greene has said he did used to pay for items for other members of his training group, but didn't know what he was paying for. "Our group was very close and things always came up," he said. "I would pay for stuff and not care what it was. I've paid for things for other people."

Greene won the gold in the 100m in Sydney and was part of the winning relay team. He also won five world championship golds and still holds the indoor 60m world record. In 1999 he set the 100m world record at 9.79s, beating Donovan Bailey's time of 9.84s and lowering the world record by the largest margin since the advent of electronic timing.