14 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, July 31, 2006 SPORT
Tour winner Landis fac
possible strip of victoi
l
MADRID (AP) - With his voice
steady and his tone defiant, Floyd
Landis vowed he would clear his
name of allegations that he cheated
o win the Tour de France.
In his first public appearance since a
testosterone imbalance showed up in a
urinetest and cast his title into doubt, the
American cyclist said his body's natural
metabolism - not doping of any kind
- caused the result, and that he would
soon have the test results to prove it.
"We will explain to the world why
this is not a doping case but a natural
'ccurrence," Landis said Friday from
the Spanish capital.
Wearing a baseball cap turned back-
ward and a white shirt with the name of
his Phonak team, Landis lashed out at
the media for characterizing his plight
as a drug scandal and said he wanted to
"make absolutely clear that I am not in
any doping process."
Later Friday, Landis's personal physi-
cian sought to clarify the nature of the
test result and the possible benefits of
the hormone in question.
"He does not have a high level of tes-
tosterone. That's not been documented.
He has a high ratio of testosterone to
epitestosterone in his urine," Dr. Brent
Kay said on CNN's "Larry King Live."
Kay said the test could indicate ele-
vated testosterone or low epitestoster-
one, or some other factor - including
handling or specimen contamination.
Kay, speaking from Los Angeles, also
said that using testosterone would hurt .,
rather than help a cyclist.
"I think everybody needs to take a
step back and look at what we're talking
about, because testosterone is a body-
building steroid that builds mass," Kay
said. "It builds mass over long-term use
of weeks, months, and even years.
"And it's crazy to think that a Tour
de France professional cyclist would be
using testosterone, particularly in the
middle of a race. It's a joke. Every sports
medicine expert, physician, trainer, sci-
entist that I've talked to in the last day,
have really the same opinion, 'No way.
This is a joke.'"
Landis, a native of Lancaster Coun-
ty, Pennsylvania, said he was shocked
when told of the initial result. He said
he had been tested six other times dur-
ing the tour, and many other times dur-
ing the year.
The aggressive tack Landis and his
supporters took Friday was a departure
from his Thursday teleconference, when
he said he expected to clear his name
but not his reputation, and had no idea
what might have caused the test result
See LANDIS, Page 16
M
Speedster Justin Gatlin
the latest to test positive
(AP) - Another American champion was hit with a shock-
ing positive drug test Saturday - Olympic and world 100-
meter titlist Justin Gatlin.
Gatlin said he has been informed that he tested positive for
testosterone or other prohibited steroids - the same violation
that only two days ago threw Floyd Landis's victory in the Tour
de France into question.
Gatlin, who positioned himself as a leader in trying to prove
track and field is a clean sport,said in a statement released through
his publicist that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency informed him of
the test taken after a relay race in Kansas in April.
He said he will cooperate with USADA "and hope that when
all the facts are revealed it will be determined that I have done
nothing wrong" If found guilty, he could face a lifetime ban from
track and field.
"I cannot account for these results, because I have never
knowingly used any banned substance or authorized anyone
else to administer such a substance to me," Gatlin said. "In
the course of my entire professional career, I have been tested
more than 100 times. ... All of the tests this season, including
the out-of-competition and in-competition tests conducted just
before and after the race in Kansas, were negative."
Gatlin, who in May tied Jamaica's Asafa Powell for the
world record in the 100 at 9.77 seconds, would lose the record
if the result is upheld.
The 2004 Olympic champion is coached by Trevor Graham,
whose former pupils include Tim Montgomery and Marion
Jones, both of whom have both been prominently mentioned in
the BALCO steroids investigation. Several athletes coached by
Graham have been suspended or banned for doping.
In an interview on WRAL-TV in North Carolina, Graham
said Gatlin doesn't accept supplements from anyone.
"He's got his own nutritional supplements that he goes out
and buys," Graham said. "He will not trust anyone to take any-
thing from him, not his parents, his coach, not anyone."
Gatlin's revelation came just days after Landis tested posi-1
tive for a testosterone imbalance after his stirring comeback
See GATLIN, Page 16
At1
Point guard Jerret Smith hopes that playing in Australia will give him momentum
going into next season.
TOUR
Continued from page 13
and-down freshman season. He
began the season with an impres-
sive performance against Central
Michigan, playing a true point guard
role and dishing out nine assists.
But troubles with his shooting and
defense plagued the Romulus native,
and playing time during the Big Ten
Foreign Tour could help prepare him
for his possible starting role at point
guard next year for Michigan.
This year's tour will take place in
Australia. Past tours have been set
in countries such as Spain, Japan,
France, Italy, Finland, Belgium,
the Netherlands, Germany, Austria,
England and Ireland.
Other notable players joining
Amaker's squad are Michigan State
guard Travis Walton, Ohio State
guard Ron Lewis, Indiana guard
Roderick Wilmont and Illinois for-
ward Marcus Arnold.
Wisconsin will not have a rep-
resentative this year, leaving the
team's roster at 11 players.
I
a
6
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HOT BODY ANN ARBOR
Contest for men and women ages 18-30.
Will make appearances at local bars and clubs.
Please send full body shot to A2hotbody@gmail.com
Winners will be selected by August Ist
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