Montgomery admits use of banned substances

American sprinter Tim Montgomery, the world's fastest man, faces a life ban after allegedly admitting to a federal grand jury he used banned substances.

The world 100metres record holder told a jury investigating drug use in sport last year that the Balco Laboratory in California gave him weekly doses of Human Growth Hormone and a substance known as the 'the clear', it is claimed.

That turned out to be THG, the new designer steroid for which Dwain Chambers tested positive.

Montgomery was told in a letter from the US Anti-Doping Agency that he faced a lifetime ban from the sport as part of their move to keep drug cheats out of the American Olympic team.

Alvin Harrison, an Olympic 400m silver medallist in 2000, the 2003 world indoor 200m champion Michelle Collins and Chryste Gaines, a 1996 Olympic relay gold medallist, have also been charged.

Montgomery, partner of triple Olympic champion Marion Jones, who is also under suspicion but has not been accused of any offence, will face a disciplinary hearing on Monday to answer charges of doping violations.

He faces being stripped of his Olympic gold medal and world 100m record and for his performances since February 2000 to be annulled.

Montgomery is the highest profile athlete to be named by USADA since it started investigating the Balco. The man at the centre of the scandal, Balco founder Victor Conte, is awaiting trial on charges of distributing drugs, money laundering and fraud.

Montgomery has not failed a drugs test but can be banned for "non-analytical positives", the term for evidence that he used drugs.

In his testimony on 6 November last year, published by the San Francisco Chronicle yesterday, Montgomery admitted he took THG and Human Growth Hormone provided by Conte, although he was not using them when he set the world record with 9.78sec in 2002.

The sprinter testified that Conte had given him weekly doses over an eight-month period ending in 2001.

When Montgomery met Conte at the Sydney Olympics, the Balco founder produced a sample of THG and was told it was unidentifiable in normal drug testing.

Montgomery's response was: "This was the magic potion."

Britain's own European 100m champion, Dwain Chambers, was found guilty of using THG. He is serving a two-year ban.

Meanwhile, Scottish cyclist David Millar has been released by French police after being held for questioning as part of a doping investigation into his Cofidis team.

Millar, due to ride next month's Tour de France, has never failed a drugs test and denies all doping accusations.