Athletics: Montgomery Ban Could Come Early

Tim Montgomery, the world 100 metres record holder and partner of the triple Olympic champion Marion Jones, could be suspended next month for taking drugs.

The International Association of Athletics Federations has complained to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after it scheduled Montgomery's hearing for June next year in California.

A preliminary hearing is expected to take place next month, after which the IAAF believes it will have the evidence to suspend Montgomery, who is suspected of having taken a cocktail of drugs including human growth hormone, which is undetectable under current testing methods.

The IAAF's fear is that Montgomery will be allowed to compete in indoor competitions in Europe, including the grand prix meeting in Birmingham in February, during the winter and outdoor events in the United States while under the suspicion of taking drugs.

"The IAAF did not accept a CAS hearing in June," said Nick Davies, an IAAF spokesman. "We have contacted the CAS to express our concerns." The IAAF believes it can suspend Montgomery after it has seen the evidence, which it believes show he a took a range of steroids, including TGH, HGH and EPO.

Montgomery was formally charged by the United States Anti-Doping Agency in July. Usada filed the charges based on documentary evidence recovered during FBI investigation into the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative and believed its case was strong enough to call for Montgomery to be banned for life and for all his performances since February 2000 to be annulled, including the Olympic gold medal he won in Sydney as part of the US 4x100m squad and the world record of 9.78sec he set in Paris in September 2002.

Montgomery told the grand jury on November 6, 2003, he knew HGH was on the list of banned substances and that he was taking "the clear", which he was assured was a steroid-like substance but was not banned.

"This was the magic potion," Montgomery told the grand jury. He testified that in 2000 his coach of the time, Trevor Graham, provided steroids to athletes, including the shot putter CJ Hunter, Jones's former husband, who was banned for two years after testing positive. Montgomery said Graham got the drugs from a vet in Mexico.