All is not lost for Antonio Pettigrew.

The 2000 Olympic gold medalist in men’s 4×400 meter relay will continue to coach student athletes at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. The institution has decided to keep the disgraced Pettigrew as an assistant coach in men’s and women’s track and field.

Pettigrew lost his gold medal when he admitted in a federal court that he had used performance-enhancing drugs. He, along with his 2000 Olympic teammates, was officially disqualified by the International Olympic Committee on August 2 and was asked to return his gold medal. Pettigrew, however, had earlier volunteered to give up his medal in June.

From the News & Observer:

(University of North Carolina) athletics director Dick Baddour, in a statement released today by the university, said that “although we do not condone the actions Antonio participated in for a time as a competitive athlete, he is remorseful and is now in a position to speak out against the dangers and consequences of using illegal substances.”

“I deeply appreciate the second chance the University of North Carolina is giving me,” Pettigrew said in a prepared statement. ” … I promise to work hard not only as track coach but as a person who will dedicate myself to teaching young men and women to make the right decisions and to know that there are no shortcuts when it comes to competition, training and integrity.”

Pettigrew appeared before a federal court in May this year when he was subpoenaed by prosecutors to testify in Trevor Graham’s steroid trial. Graham was a former coach of Pettigrew and other prominent track athletes, including Marion Jones and her former husband C.J. Hunter. Graham was subsequently found guilty of committing perjury to federal authorities during their investigation of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative in Burlingame, California.

Pettigrew, who never failed a drug test, admitted in his testimony that he had used the blood booster erythropoietin and human growth hormone in the period before, during and after the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Three of his teammates, however, had figured in doping violations before.

Twins Alvin and Calvin Harrison were suspended due to doping infringements. Jerome Young, another team member, was banned for life in 2004 from track and field for testing positive for banned compounds twice.

Pettigrew has been with the UNC coaching staff since 2006.

The BALCO incident is considered as the biggest steroid scandal in U.S. history. It involved preeminent Olympic and professional athletes, including star players of Major League Baseball and National Football League. This scandal prompted Congressional hearings on use of steroids and other banned substances in MLB. Several well-known sluggers were implicated, including Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds.

Legislators said the main motivation for the series of hearing was to stop the rising use of steroid use among young Americans.
“Kids are dying from the use of steroids. They’re looking up to these major league leaders in terms of the enhancements that they’re using. And we have to stop it,” said Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif) in an interview on March 13, 2005 on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

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The disqualification of the United States 1,600-meter relay team comes four years after the team’s victory at that Olympic event in Sydney. The International Olympic Committee officially issued the disqualification on Saturday after Antonio Pettigrew, a member of the said team, publicly admitted steroids and PEDs.

The entire team is required to give back its gold medals to the United State Olympic Committee which will be turned over to the IOC offices in Switzerland.

The New York Times reports:

The International Olympic Committee officially disqualified on Saturday sprinter Antonio Pettigrew and his entire United States 1,600-meter relay team from the 2000 Sydney Games because Pettigrew admitted using performance-enhancing drugs at those Olympics.

Pettigrew, who never failed a drug test, admitted in May to using the blood booster EPO and human growth hormone before, during and after the 2000 Olympics. He returned his medal in June.

His teammates — Michael Johnson, Angelo Taylor, Jerome Young and the twins Alvin and Calvin Harrison — will also lose their medals. Johnson, a three-time Olympic gold medalist in individual events, voluntarily gave up his relay gold medal in July.

“We fully support the action taken today by the I.O.C.,” Darryl Seibel, spokesman for the U.S.O.C, said. “Athletes must understand that if they make the choice to cheat, there will be consequences and those consequences can be severe.”

At a news conference on Saturday, Giselle Davies, spokeswoman for the I.OC., said the board would wait on that decision, so they could see if any more information comes out of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative steroids case.

Some of Pettigrew’s teammates have already been swept up in doping scandals of their own.

Alvin and Calvin Harrison have both served suspensions from the sport for violating doping rules. Young was barred for life.

Antonio Pettigrew’s admission took place when he was subpoenaed to testify in the trial of his former coach Trevor Graham in May this year. Graham was subsequently found guilty of lying to federal investigators during their investigation stemming from the BALCO Affair.

In his testimony, Pettigrew admitted that he had used steroids and PEDs as far back as 1997.

His statements surprised many, including his co-winner Michael Johnson, since he was never tested positive for any banned compound.

Johnson had given up his gold medal right after Pettigrew’s testimony. He said he felt ‘betrayed’ with Pettigrew’s admission.

Pettigrew has been retired from the track since 2002.

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First, it was the sentencing of David Jacobs on May 1. This former Plano bodybuilder was slapped with three year’s probation and a monetary fine of $25,000 for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids. Two other co-conspirators were sentenced along Jacobs. The other four co-defendants are still awaiting their sentencing.

Jacobs was the ring leader of the Texas-based steroid distribution network. Based on his confession, he had supplied anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs to NFL players. He said he sold steroids and human growth hormone directly to NFL offensive lineman Matt Lehr and another NPL player. The players, in turn, supplied said compounds to a handful of NFL players.

Then the trial of controversial track coach Trevor Graham. Graham was found guilty of lying to federal authorities regarding his relationship with Heredia, a self-confessed steroid dealer and user. Heredia has testified that he had supplied Graham performance-enhancing drugs, including steroids, to the latter’s Sprint Capitol track team. During the trial, several names were mentioned by Heredia. Heredia said he provided steroids and other banned substances directly or through Graham to high-profile athletes, such as Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery, and Antonio Pettigrew.

Major League Baseball has also been rocked by steroid scandals. Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire’s careers have been tainted by use of steroids and other banned substances.

What are steroids and why is their use so rampant in sports?

Steroids are synthetic substances similar to the male sex hormone testosterone. They do have legitimate medical uses; they are used in treatment of diverse conditions such as anemia, HIV-related symptoms, and hypogonadism. The term steroids, however, became a household term because of their use as physique- and performance-enhancing drugs.
There are many studies and anecdotal reports that steroids are capable of boosting both the physique and performance of an athlete. Pettigrew, for example, in his testimony in the trial of his former coach has acknowledged that once he started taking banned substances, he was able to run 400 meters in the 43-second range for the first time. “I was running incredible times as I was preparing for track meets,” he said. “I was able to recover faster.”

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Michael Johnson felt he did not deserve the gold medal, and thus he decided to give it up. Johnson came to such a difficult decision after Antonio Pettigrew, his teammate at the 1600-meter relay in 2000 Sydney Olympics, publicly confessed that he used steroids. The US team took home the gold in that event.

“As difficult as it is, I will be returning it to the International Olympic Committee because I don’t want it,” Johnson, the former Baylor superstar, wrote in a column in Daily Telegraph in London. “I feel cheated, betrayed and let down.”

The gold medal is one of five Johnson won in his impressive career. He still holds the world record in the 200 and 400 meters. Pettigrew’s testimony means that three of the four runners in the finals on the US relay team have been tainted by use of steroids and other performance boosters.

Twins Alvin and Calvin Harrison, the other two members of the four-man team, were suspended for doping violations. Alvin Harrison accepted a four-year ban in 2004 after admitting he used performance enhancers. Calvin Harrison tested positive for a banned stimulant in 2003 and was suspended for two years. Like Pettigrew, the twins were coached by Graham.

Pettigrew was subpoenaed to testify in the trial of his longtime coach Trevor Graham. Angel ‘Memo’ Heredia, the steroid dealer turned prosecution witness, has mentioned several of Graham’s elite track athletes including Pettigrew, whom he said he supplied with steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. Pettigrew’s name came as a surprise since he never tested positive for steroid use.

“The news that Antonio was scheduled to testify to having taken performance-enhancing drugs shocked me like no other drug-related story,” Johnson wrote upon learning of Pettigrew’s subpoenaed testimony. “…He was someone I considered a friend.”
During his testimony on May 22 in a San Francisco district court, Pettigrew acknowledged that he had used banned substances as far back as 1997. Graham was found guilty on one count to lying to federal investigators during their inquiry into the BALCO steroid scandal.

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