Lausanne, Switzerland (My Sportsbook) - The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that five members of the United States' 1,600-meter relay team can keep their gold medals from the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) wanted the gold medal result overturned because team member Jerome Young was involved in a doping incident. The United States Olympic Committee filed an appeal and the CAS agreed with the USOC.
"Only Jerome Young in the U.S. team should be stripped of his gold medal," the CAS said in a statement.
Young, who tested positive for steroids and last year was slapped with a lifetime ban by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, participated only in the opening heat and semifinal during the Americans' gold medal run.
Michael Johnson was the anchor leg in the final, joining Antonio Pettigrew and twins Alvin and Calvin Harrison. Jerome Taylor was also a gold medalist, having also run in earlier heats.
The IAAF said the entire team should have been disqualified because Young should have been ineligible.
However, the CAS cited IAAF rules at the time of the Sydney Games, which did not call for an entire team to forfeit the victory. Those rules have since been changed.
The International Olympic Committee will now have the authority to strip Young of his medal, but the other five will remain in the record books.
"This case was about the proper application of rules by an international sports federation and the preservation of due process for athletes at the Olympic Games," the USOC said in a statement.
"The issue of Mr. Young and his use of banned substances has already been dealt with through the United States Anti-Doping Agency adjudication process, which resulted in a lifetime ban from competition for Mr. Young -- a decision the United States Olympic Committee fully supports," the statement added.
Had the CAS ruled the opposite way, Nigeria would have been awarded the gold medal, Jamaica would have been given the silver and the Bahamas would have earned a bronze.
