NEW YORK, May 19: American sprinter Kelli White has been stripped of her 100 and 200 metre gold medals from the 2003 world championships after accepting a two-year suspension for taking banned drugs.

The United States Anti-Doping Agency said on Wednesday that White, 27, had admitted taking the drugs and accepted the minimum ban for her first offence involving the use of prohibited substances, including undetectable steroids and the blood-boosting erythropoietin (EPO).

The admission of guilt by one of the sport's leading names is a major victory for anti-doping authorities and comes after 10 months of rumours and allegations swirling around the cream of American athletics.

White's suspension started from Monday and means she will miss August's Olympic Games. All her results since Dec 15, 2000, have been disqualified, annulling her gold medals at the world and U.S. championships.

White hopes to have the ban reduced in exchange for helping U.S. Olympic authorities, who have pledged to send a clean team to the Athens Games. -Reuters