The decision of the Council of Arbitration for Sport to suspend American sprinter Tim Montgomery along with Chryste Gaines for doping violations means that the South African men’s relay quartet of Morne Nagel, Corne du Plessis, Lee-Roy Newton and Matthew Quinn have now become the world champions.
They were in second place and won a silver medal at the 2001 IAAF World Championships in Edmonton.
Montgomery was a member of the victorious United States 4x100m relay team in Canada and under IAAF rules all Montgomery’s results after March 31 2001 — the date he admitted as the date on which he had made use of prohibited substances — were expunged.
Whether the entire foursome will be stripped of their medals will have to be seen. The other members of the US team were Mickey Grimes, Bernard Williams and Dennis Mitchell.
Two more US sprinters, Jon Drummond and JJ (Joshua) Johnson, also received gold medals for running in the heats leading to the final.
The four South Africans, who ran above themselves and provided one of the major upsets of the 2001 championships, also set a South African record of 38,47 seconds in the final. — Sapa