The Electronic Telegraph Sunday 16 May 2004 Martin Gillingham
World athletics bosses are facing the uncomfortable prospect of stripping one of the sport's most prestigious titles from one high-profile drugs cheat only to pass it on to another. It has placed officials from the International Association of Athletics Federations in such an embarrassing position they may even allow one of the two athletes involved, the American sprinter Kelli White, to keep one of her medals. White won both the women's 100 and 200 metres titles at last year's World Championships in Paris but tested positive after her victory in the shorter sprint for the banned stimulant modafinil. In the aftermath of that victory senior officials from the IAAF said that, if proven guilty, she would be disqualified from both events. Nine months on, White remains the champion in both events though, under normal circumstances, her disqualification would be inevitable. For that to happen her case must first be heard by the United States authorities, who are renowned for dragging their heels. Earlier last week, Rich Wanninger, of the US Anti-Doping Agency, refused to disclose whether a date had been set for White's hearing other than to confirm the case was "in the adjudication process". But senior sources within the sport have revealed the hearing is scheduled in the next week. Once the Americans have dealt their punishment, the matter will go before the IAAF, who, under any other circumstances, would be expected to disqualify her from both Paris sprints and strip her of not only the two gold medals but the $120,000 she accumulated in prize money. In both events, the medals and prize money would then be passed on to the athletes who finished second. But the IAAF face a dilemma. It was recently announced that the Russian sprinter Anastasiya Kapachinskaya had tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol after winning the world indoor 200m title in Budapest in March. She faces the loss of that world title and a two-year suspension. Kapachinskaya was also runner-up to White over 200m in Paris and stands to benefit most from White's disqualification. And should that happen there is no way of the IAAF preventing Kapachinskaya from giving back one World Championship 200m gold medal with one hand while collecting an identical piece of metal and a cheque for $60,000 with the other. The only way the IAAF can stop this from happening is by allowing White to retain her 200m title. To do that, though, the IAAF would have to reopen a loophole in the rules they had moved swiftly to close last August. According to their anti-doping regulations, the punishment for substances such as modafinil involves a "public warning and disqualification from the event". Until now, the world governing body have interpreted "the event" to mean not only the race itself but the entire meeting or championships. This was confirmed by the IAAF's general secretary, Istvan Gyulai, in the aftermath of White's test failure in Paris. When challenged in Paris last August about how this would impact on White's claim to the 200m title, Gyulai was adamant. He said: "It would be wrong to say, 'You are doping on Sunday, and you're out,' and then say, 'You can win the same medal on Thursday at the same championships'. I believe this is an important moral message." But it is this latest twist that may prompt Gyulai and his colleagues to perform an about turn and discount that moral message in favour of another. It now seems likely they may prefer to retain White as a world champion rather than Kapachinskaya and, by inference, deliver the judgment that they regard the Russian's doping violation to have been more serious. One senior source said: "The lesson of this is that an IAAF member federation needs to propose a change in the rules so that no serious drugs offender is allowed to hold either a world record or a world title." 31 December 2003: White among US failed tests Eamonn Condon [EMAIL PROTECTED]
