IOC Strips Gold From 2000 US Relay Team

The International Olympic Committee today stripped gold medals from the US men's 1,600-meter relay team that competed at the 2000 Olympics, in the aftermath of Antonio Pettigrew's admission that he was doping at the time. The IOC executive board disqualified the entire team, the fourth gold and sixth overall medal stripped from that US track contingent in the past eight months for doping.

Today's decision was almost a formality after Pettigrew gave up his gold medal in June. He admitted in court in May that he used EPO and human growth hormone from 1997 to 2003. Five of Pettigrew's teammates also lose their medals: Michael Johnson and twins Alvin and Calvin Harrison ran in the final; Jerome Young and Angelo Taylor ran in the preliminaries. (More 2000 Sydney Olympics stories.)