May 04, 2008	Sunday	Rabi-us-Sani 27, 1429

SAN FRANCISCO, May 3: Olympic gold medallist Antonio Pettigrew was identified on Friday in government court documents as a user of illegal and banned performance-enhancing drugs.

The gold medallist in the 4x400 relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympics is one of seven elite athletes, once trained by Trevor Graham, who are scheduled to testify their former coach set them up with performance-enhancing drugs, according to the prosecutors’ filing.

Graham’s trial is scheduled to start May 19 in US District Court in Northern California.

Graham has pleaded not guilty to making false statements when he told investigators he never obtained drugs from a Laredo, Texas weightlifter, Angel “Memo” Heredia.

Heredia is scheduled to testify he and Graham had numerous telephone conversations about drugs.

According to the prosecutors’ filing, Pettigrew will testify he “obtained and used illegal and banned performance-enhancing drugs from Heredia with the defendant’s knowledge.”

Prosecutors placed 17 people on their witness list, including Calvin Harrison and Jerome Young, who won gold medals as Pettigrew’s team-mates in the 2000 Olympic relay.

Young later was stripped of his gold medal after testing positive a year before the games and was banned for life in 2004 after testing positive for EPO, and Harrison was banned for two years for doping. Both sprinters will testify Graham helped them obtain performance-enhancing drugs, according to federal prosecutors.

Graham’s former runners Duane Ross, Garfield Ellenwood, Michelle Collins and Dennis Mitchell also are scheduled to testify that their coach helped and encouraged them to obtain banned substances.

Collins, and Mitchell — won gold with the US 4x100 relay team at the 1992 Olympics and bronze in the 100, as well as a 4x100 relay silver medal at Atlanta in 1996 — also have served doping bans.

In addition, Randall Evans will testify he travelled to Texas with Graham to meet Heredia.

The government does not intend to call Graham’s most famous athletes, Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery, but both disgraced runners still will loom large at Graham’s trial.

Jones is currently serving a six-month prison sentence after admitting she lied to federal investigators about her drug use. Montgomery was indicted this week on heroin distribution charges.

“Mr Heredia will testify that the defendant contacted him prior to the 2000 Olympics and specifically inquired about obtaining such illegal banned substances for Marion Jones,” the prosecutors’ filing stated.

Prosecutors say Heredia gave Graham the drug EPO, a banned oxygen-booster, so the coach could give Jones the drugs before the 2000 Olympics.

Graham’s attorneys have asked a judge to prohibit that testimony because the coach is only charged with lying about his relationship with Heredia.—AP