August 31, 2003	Sunday	Rajab 2, 1424

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PARIS, Aug 30: The Dominican Republic’s Felix ‘Superman’ Sanchez and John Capel of the United States could have been lost to baseball and American football respectively but athletics was the winner as both took world titles here on Friday.

Sanchez won the 400 metres hurdles in the fastest time since 1998 to emulate legend Edwin Moses in winning back-to-back titles in the event while Capel erased memories of his nightmare in the 2000 Olympic final to win the 200m crown.

While those relative youngsters basked in their deserved glory, two grizzled champions Jan Zelezny and Allen Johnson stayed on course for a fourth world title each as the former qualified for the javelin final and the latter breezed through to the 110m hurdles decider.

Sadly the Americans’ habit of dominating the controversy off the track continued as first the Los Angeles Times quoted 400m champion Jerome Young as saying he had tested positive for drugs before the 2000 Olympics, backing up first hand their story from Wednesday.

However, a few hours later the 27-year-old athlete - who won gold in the 4x400m relay in Sydney - issued a personal statement denying he had ever failed a drugs test and claiming he had not heard the journalist’s questions clearly as it was by mobile phone and there had been a lot of noise.

The matter seems set to run and run with the IAAF bound by a ruling last November, at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), who ruled in favour of the USATF that names of American athletes failing drugs tests between 1996-2000 should not be released because of a confidentiality clause.

Another drugs related controversy surfaced on the track in the form of Italian policeman Andrea Longo, who qualified for the 800m final.

In 2001, he was given a two year drug suspension after testing positive for nandrolone but last month the IAAF gave him extra time to qualify for the championships as the original deadline fell within the period of his ban.

The special dispensation caused a storm of criticism over the IAAF’s willingness to bend their own rules relating to doping offences.

Sanchez, who will be 26 on Saturday, timed 47.25sec to win the 400m hurdles.

He has said all along he will never be able to rival Ed Moses but in retaining the title he becomes the first one to do so since the great American achieved the feat in 1983 and 1987 when the championships were held every four years instead of two as they are now.

While Sanchez’s hopes of joining many of his compatriots in baseball ended the day he broke a wrist in a wrestling bout, Capel signed up first with the Chicago Bears and then the Kansas City Chiefs.