Last Updated: Tuesday, 13 December 2005, 16:14 GMT
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Montgomery hit with two-year ban
Chryste Gaines/Tim Montgomery
Chambers may lose medals
Balco founder pleads guilty
US sprinters Tim Montgomery and Chryste Gaines were given two-year bans on Tuesday for doping offences.
They were found guilty by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after appealing against proposed bans based on evidence gathered in the Balco laboratory case.
The US Anti-Doping Agency had sought to impose four-year bans on the pair.
The ban is from 6 June 2005 and all Montgomery's results and awards since 31 March 2001, including his former world record, will be cancelled.
Despite avoiding a life ban, the 30-year-old will be hit hard by the decision.
Not only will his former record time of 9.78 seconds in September 2002 be stripped away from him, but the American looks set to have his huge earnings from breaking that record confiscated.
Ms White's testimony was both credible and sufficient to establish that the athletes had indeed admitted to have used prohibited substances
CAS statement about Kelli White's testimony
All results and awards claimed by three-time world sprint relay champion Gaines, 35, since 30 November 2003 will also be cancelled.
Neither sprinter tested positive for drugs and both vehemently denied the charges which were issued by the USADA following a criminal investigation into the Balco laboratory in California.
USADA had requested four-year suspensions for both runners, but CAS - the highest court in sport - cut the penalty in half.
CAS said it based its ruling in part of testimony from former world sprint champion Kelli White, who was suspended for two years in 2004 in the Balco case.
White testified that Montgomery and Gaines both admitted to her that they used a prohibited substance provided by Balco.
"The panel unanimously found that Ms White's testimony was both credible and sufficient to establish that the athletes had indeed admitted to have used prohibited substances in violation of applicable anti-doping rules," CAS said in a
there's always a snitch in the middle of things... when will people learn