IN THE NEWS - Anti-Doping Agency Seeks to Ban Four Top Runne

IN THE NEWS - Anti-Doping Agency Seeks to Ban Four Top Runners
By Cynthia Kirk

Broadcast: Saturday, June 26, 2004

This is Steve Ember with In the News, in VOA Special English.

 
Tim Montgomery
This week, the United States Anti-Doping Agency accused four top runners of drug violations¹. The athletes could face lifetime bans from competition. One of them is Tim Montgomery. He holds the record as the fastest man in the world. He ran the one-hundred-meter race in nine-point-seven-eight seconds in two-thousand-two. The other athletes are Chryste Gaines, Alvin Harrison and Michelle Collins.

The four athletes have never failed a drug test. The agency has built its case with evidence from a federal investigation² of the BALCO company in California. BALCO is the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative. The agency says the evidence includes e-mail messages and other documents. A United States Senate committee gave the agency thousands of pages of documents from the investigation.

Federal officials have charged BALCO founder³ Victor Conte and three other men with illegal trade in steroids. These drugs which can increase athletic⁴ performance are banned in most sports. But their use can be difficult to discover in drug testing.

 
Graphic⁵ Image
The United States Anti-Doping Agency is a private organization. It is known as USADA [you-SAH-dah]. It was created in two-thousand for the Olympic movement in the United States.

Its rules permit athletes to continue to compete until their cases are decided⁶. Competition is set for July ninth to choose the United States Olympic track and field team. The agency says it hopes to have the four cases settled before then. The Athens Olympics are in August.

The agency sent letters to the four runners earlier this month to tell them they were under investigation. They can appeal to a United States court or to the Court of Arbitration⁷ for Sport, based in Switzerland.

Punishments could also include a loss of past results. Tim Montgomery could lose his world record from two-thousand-two.

His lawyers say the evidence against him is weak. They say the agency is treating him unfairly and wants to ruin him. The San Francisco Chronicle reported this week that he told an investigating grand jury⁸ last year that he used performance drugs.

Tim Montgomery is the boyfriend of Marion Jones, the runner, who has won three Olympic gold medals. Marion Jones is also under investigation. But she has not been charged. She has strongly denied using illegal substances.

Last month, Olympic runner Kelli White admitted to such use. She accepted a two-year suspension⁹. She also lost her world championship titles in the one-hundred and two-hundred meter races.

All this comes as Americans follow the issue of performance drugs in professional sports. Some top baseball players have been named as part of the BALCO investigation. This has increased pressure to ban the use of such drugs by professional players.

In the News, in VOA Special English, was written by Cynthia Kirk. This is Steve Ember.

1 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

5 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 arbitration   

n.调停，仲裁

参考例句：

• The wage disagreement is under arbitration.工资纠纷正在仲裁中。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding.双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

8 jury   

n.陪审团，评委会；adj.临时用的；vt.挑选

参考例句：

• These twelve men are believed to compose the jury.据信，陪审团是由这12人组成的。
• The members of the jury were discharged from their duties.陪审员们被解除了职务。

9 suspension   

n.悬挂，悬浮液，暂缓，未决，中止

参考例句：

• The local authorities decided to build a suspension bridge over the river.地方当局决定在这条河上建一座吊桥。
• A four-day suspension was imposed on her.她被勒令停职4天。