DRUG TESTS ROCK U.S. TRACK WORLD

Mitchell's ban may keep Canuck relay team on top

The Canadian relay team's winning streak may be intact after American
sprinter Dennis Mitchell was suspended indefinitely yesterday for drug use.

In a bombshell that rocked the already shaky world of U.S. track and field,
both Mitchell and Olympic shot put champion Randy Barnes failed
out-of-competition drug tests April 1, according to the International
Amateur Athletics Federation.

If the B sample of Mitchell's test is also deemed positive, the Americans
would be stripped of their victory over Canada last Wednesday in the relay
at the Goodwill Games - in which Mitchell participated - and also have to
return the $40,000 in first-place prize money.

Craig Masback, executive president of USA Track & Field, told Associated
Press his group was outraged ``that the IAAF chose to temporarily suspend
two American athletes on the basis of unproven allegations.

Masback said the pair would ``receive the full support of USATF until such
time as it is determined that they have committed a doping offence.''

Canadian relay member Glenroy Gilbert was taken aback by the news.

``Holy smokes. That's unbelievable,'' said Gilbert of Mitchell's test.
``I'd sooner get a victory on the track, but a win's a win. That's what
happens. Your body's got to be clean.''

The Canadians were unbeaten at major track meets dating back to the 1994
Commonwealth Games, including two world championships and the 1996 Atlanta
Olympics.

Gilbert said Mitchell gave no indication that anything was wrong last week.

``It didn't seem like he was bothered by anything or nervous. Not at all.''

That's likely changed now as Mitchell faces a two-year suspension for
testing positive for testosterone.

The testosterone level in Mitchell's sample was not known. The allowable
ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone (another natural substance) is six
to one.

Barnes, the world record-holder, could be banned for life if his B sample
is positive. He was suspended for two years for the steroid
methyltestosterone, detected at a meet in Malmo, Sweden, in 1990. This
time, the substance is androstenedione, a banned nutritional supplement.

Mitchell, 32, has been among the world's top sprinters for a decade and was
considered one of Donovan Bailey's chief rivals at the Atlanta Olympics. He
was a bronze medalist at the 1992 Summer Games, but finished fourth in
Atlanta. His best season came in 1994 when he ran under 10 seconds five
times in six weeks.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski