Tim Montgomery

Raleigh (North Carolina): World 100m record holder Tim Montgomery’s lawyers have been requested to respond by Monday to US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) charges of doping violations by the American sprinter.

Montgomery and former world indoor 200m champion Michelle Collins were among four US sprinters sent letters by the USADA this week charging them with doping violations that would bring lifetime bans from the sport.

Olympic silver medallist Alvin Harrison and former Olympic relay gold medallist Chryste Gaines also received letters.

Under USADA protocol, persons charged with a doping offence may accept a ban or either seek a hearing before an American Arbitration Association panel comprised of North American members of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) or go directly to the Swiss-based CAS.

Montgomery’s lawyers have not indicated how they will respond to the charges. One of his attorneys, Howard Jacobs, said the USADA letter to Montgomery “does not allege that Tim Montgomery took any banned substances”.

Collins’s lawyer, Brian H. Getz, said on Wednesday he would seek a hearing before a US arbitration panel. No date for the hearing has yet been set. Getz also said he would challenge USADA’s charges.

Neither Montgomery and Collins have ever failed a doping test but they can both still be banned from the Athens Olympics opening on August 13 under USADA rules that provide for non-analytical positives, that is evidence of drug taking other than a positive test.

Double world sprint champion Kelli White was suspended for two years last month after admitting using undetectable steroids and the blood booster EPO.

Montgomery set his world record of 9.78 seconds at the Paris Grand Prix final in 2002. Last year Marion Jones gave birth to their son. Jones has also been under scrutiny by the USADA but has not been charged with any offence. She has also denied taking banned substances.