Friday, November 3, 2006

by Adam Tanner

SAN FRANCISCO, USA (Reuters): Trevor Graham, the Jamaican-born track coach who touched off the BALCO sport doping scandal by anonymously sending authorities a syringe, was indicted by a US grand jury on Thursday on three counts of making false statements related to steroid distribution.

Graham has coached some of the world's top sprinters, including Sydney Olympic triple champion Marion Jones, disgraced former 100 meters world record holder Tim Montgomery and 2004 Athens Olympic champions Justin Gatlin in the 100 meters.

Graham, who competed for Jamaica in the 1988 Olympics, played a pivotal role in alerting officials in 2003 to the presence of a previously undetectable steroid by sending the US Anti-Doping Agency a used syringe that contained small amounts of the THG steroid.

More than a half-dozen athletes he has coached or previously coached have been suspended for doping violations or tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

According to the indictment, Graham lied during a June 2004 interview with investigators from the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation division.

"The charges allege that Graham intentionally lied to IRS-CI agents who were pursuing the original source of the illegal performance-enhancing drugs taken by many of the athletes tied to BALCO," U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan said in a statement. Graham is due to be arraigned on November 16.

The trainer's athletes linked to doping include Montgomery, who was banned for two years in 2005 for doping violations in conjunction with the BALCO scandal although he never tested positive, and current 100 meters co-world record holder Gatlin, who tested positive for testosterone in April.

FIVE ALREADY CONVICTED

Federal courts have also convicted five men, including Victor Conte, head of the BALCO lab south of San Francisco, and the personal trainer of baseball superstar Barry Bonds, for their roles in distributing steroids.

Bonds, who has hit the second-most home runs in US Major League Baseball history, remains under investigation over whether he testified truthfully before the federal grand jury when he said he never knowingly used steroids.

After initial denials, Graham admitted at the 2004 Athens Olympics that he had sent the syringe. His motivations remains somewhat unclear, but he and BALCO head Conte dislike each other.

The founder of the Raleigh, North Carolina-based Sprint Capitol club, Graham no longer coaches Jones. The US Olympic Committee banned Graham from using USOC facilities "based on the unusual number of athletes he has coached who have been convicted of doping offenses," USOC chairman Peter Ueberroth said.

Nike, the world's largest athletic shoe maker, also terminated its contract with Graham.

Graham, who lives in North Carolina, has steadfastly denied providing steroids to his athletes. He did not return telephone calls to his home and cell phone seeking reaction. His lawyer also did not return requests for comment made by telephone and by e mail.

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