LONDON, England (AP) -- The International Olympic Committee is ready to "take the necessary actions" after disgraced American sprinter Tim Montgomery admitted he doped before the Sydney Games, where he won a relay gold medal.
Montgomery is currently in prison after being convicted of check fraud and heroin trafficking.
Montgomery said in a U.S. television interview that he took testosterone and human growth hormone before the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and doesn't deserve his gold in the 4x100 relay. Montgomery ran in the preliminaries but not the final.
"The IOC will look into the matter as part of its open file on the BALCO case and take the necessary actions," IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau said in an e-mail Monday. "Back in 2004, the IOC set up a disciplinary commission with a view to how the case might have affected Olympic Games' competitions."
Moreau also said the IOC supports the U.S. Olympic Committee's call for Montgomery to voluntarily return his medal.
The International Association of Athletics Federation needs formal notification from Montgomery in writing before its anti-doping board can review the case, IAAF spokesman Nick Davies said.
Montgomery's admission was made during an interview scheduled to air Tuesday night on HBO television.
"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."
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. 4x400 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.
The IOC also vacated the victory by the U.S. women's 4x400 relay team in Sydney and the third-place finish of the 4x100 relay squad because Marion Jones, Montgomery's former girlfriend, had doped.
Montgomery is currently in prison after being convicted of check fraud and heroin trafficking.
He did not say in the HBO interview when or how often he had taken testosterone, just that he had done so before Sydney. He also said he took HGH four times a month.
"If Tim Montgomery cheated at the games, then he should step forward and voluntarily return his medal, just as others from the 2000 team have done," Darryl Seibel, spokesman for the U.S. Olympic Committee, said on Sunday. "By using a banned substance, any result he achieved is tainted."Original here
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