100m record-holder 'charged with doping offence'

USA track stars Tim Montgomery and Michelle Collins have been charged by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, according to the New York Times.

Montgomery, the world’s fastest man, and Collins, the world indoor 200m champion, have reportedly been charged with drug violations and the USADA have notified them that they will be seeking lifetime bans for the pair.

According to the newspaper, the agency informed the duo on June 8 that they were being investigated for possible use of performance-enhancing drugs linked to the BALCO laboratory.

“The USADA letter does not allege that Tim Montgomery took any banned substances,” insisted Montgomery’s lawyer Howard Jacobs in a statement.

“However, the conclusion by USADA’s review board – whose members were all chosen by USADA’s chief executive, Terry Madden, and is hardly an independent body to proceed with the adjudication process based on some vague assertion of Tim’s alleged involvement with Balco – further underscores the basic lack of fairness in this entire process.

“USADA’s leap to judgment on the flimsiest of so-called ‘evidence’ confirms our worst suspicions – that it is resorting to McCarthy-like tactics in its efforts to ruin Tim’s reputation.”