Johnson medal at risk due to Pettigrew case

By Karolos Grohmann

LONDON (Reuters) - American sprinter Michael Johnson, one of the United States' most successful athletes, could lose his Sydney 2000 Olympics 4x400m gold medal after a former relay team mate admitted to doping.

Antonio Pettigrew, a member of the Sydney Games gold-winning relay team that also included Johnson and twins Alvin and Calvin Harrison, told a San Francisco court on Thursday he had used banned substances after the 1996 Olympic trials.

Last year, the International Olympic Committee stripped the team mates of disgraced sprinter Marion Jones of their Sydney Games relay medals after she had similarly admitted to doping.

Pettigrew was testifying in a trial linked to the now-defunct San Francisco-based Balco lab that provided banned substances to several prominent athletes, including Jones.

"Since the Balco story first broke, the IOC has been very keen to ensure that the impact it has had on the Olympic Games be thoroughly addressed and rectified through our disciplinary procedures," the IOC said in a statement.

"Recent revelations should be viewed with this in mind.

"All new elements coming out on the Balco case - be that from the hearings in the US this week or from other sources - will be studied by the IOC as part of its on-going and now long-standing look at this sorry tale."

Johnson, who won a total of five gold medals in three Olympics, has never been linked to any use of illegal substances.