PARIS, Aug 30: American sprinter Kelli White faces being stripped of her two world titles after testing positive for a stimulant that will be banned at next year’s Athens Olympics, the IAAF’s top medical official Professor Arne Ljungqvist announced on Saturday.

Ljungqvist admitted White, who won the 100 metres and 200m titles here this week and was due to compete in the sprint relay final on Saturday, had tested positive after the 100m final for Modafinil, which stimulates the nervous system and combats tiredness.

The professor said the drug was normally used “by people who easily lose concentration and awareness and actually fall asleep”, a condition known as narcolepsia.

Ljungqvist told a press conference that he had only been informed of the positive test on Friday and more time was needed to examine the case before a decision could be made over what action, if any, to take over White.

The case was revealed in French sports paper L’Equipe on Saturday.

The professor said the key factor was what category Modafinal falls into.

If it is established that it falls into the category of ephedrine, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) order a disqualification from the competition - in other words White would lose both her titles - and a warning.

However, if the substance is established to be in the group of amphetamines, it is considered more serious and would lead to White losing her World Championships titles won here and being suspended for two years.

“We need to have more information until we carry it to a conclusion,” said Ljunqvist. “We need to know how to classify the substance.”

Ljungqvist said it was possible to suffer from narcolepsia and still be a high-level athlete.

He said White had explained she did not declare the substance because it was not on the list of banned substances issued to athletes and their national federations.

In a statement, the IAAF said White had explained that she took the drug on prescription for a medical condition that is an hereditary illness.

“She took the substance on prescription to treat a medical condition that runs in her family,” said the statement.

White has already fallen foul of the strict anti-doping regulations in France, having been banned from competition there from Jan 1 to June 30 this year after testing positive for triamcinolone acetonide, a medicine used to treat asthma, at last year’s Golden League meeting.

The United States team has already been at the centre of controversy after the revelation that Jerome Young, the winner of the men’s 400m at these championships had tested positive for the steroid nandrolone a year before the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Young was allowed to run in the Games after being cleared on appeal by an internal US inquiry - he was due to appear later on Saturday in the men’s 4x400m relay.—AFP