Doping: Lagat sues IAAF
2005-09-13 21:55
Cologne, Germany - Olympic 1 500m silver medallist Bernard Lagat is to sue world athletics governing body, the IAAF, for having falsely accused him of failing a doping test, German sports agency SID reported on Tuesday.
Lagat tested positive for the endurance-boosting drug EPO (erythropoietin) in a meeting in Germany in August 2003 but was cleared after a second urine sample tested negative.
Lagat, 30, did not race in the 2003 world athletics championships in Paris or any other international meets that year because of the suspicions raised.
The Kenyan-born runner - Olympic bronze medallist in 2000 and world silver medallist in 2001 - who became a US citizen in March this year is seeking damages of $500 000, SID said.
Back in 2003, Athletics Kenya medical commission chief Alf Kimani revealed Lagat's name before the B sample of the doping test had been examined.
"We severly criticised that at the time," IAAF spokesperson Nick Davies said, offering no further comment on Lagat's plans to sue.
Lagat has always protested his innocence in the doping incident and at the time called for a change in the way testing is carried out for EPO, which is a naturally occurring hormone, produced by the kidneys, which stimulates the body to produce more red blood cells which deliver oxygen to the body.
It is used to treat anaemia but has become widely known as a drug used illegally by athletes.
- SAPA