Former track star and former world’s fastest man Tim Montgomery admitted to the use of testosterone and human growth hormone prior to the 2000 Sydney Olympic games.  Montgomery received a gold medal for running for the 4×100 relay team during preliminary heats; he did not run the 4×100 finals at the Olympics (”IOC ready to investigate Montgomery’s doping,” November 24).

“I have a gold medal that I’m sitting on that I didn’t get with my own ability,” Montgomery said. “I’m not here to take away from anybody else’s accomplishments, only my own. And I must say, I apologize to the other people that was on the relay team if that was to happen.”

The International Olympic Committee is preparing to investigate the allegation. However, it appears unlikely that other athletes running on the 2000 Sydney Olympic 4×100 relay team will be forced to relinquish their gold medals based on the precedent set by Jerome Young case.

Montgomery never tested positive for drugs, but he was banned for two years and his world record in the 100 meters was erased after he was linked to the BALCO doping investigation. He retired after the ban was imposed in 2005.

How Montgomery’s admission might affect his 2000 relay teammates is uncertain.

Jon Drummond, Bernard Williams, Brian Lewis, Maurice Greene and Kenneth Brokenburr were the other members of the team. Drummond, Williams, Lewis and Greene ran in the Olympic final.

The IOC had previously tried to strip the entire U.S. 4×400 relay team of its Sydney gold over a previous doping violation by team member Jerome Young. But Young had not run in the final, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the rest of the team should not be disqualified.

However, the entire team had to give up its medals this summer after Antonio Pettigrew — who did run in the final — admitted doping.

Tim Montgomery was never prosecuted for his role in the BALCO doping scandal. However, Montgomery will be in prison a very long time as result of separate convictions for heroin distribution and check/bank fraud.