American sprinter Crystal Cox stripped of gold medal

U.S. sprinter Crystal Cox was stripped of the gold medal she won as part of the 1,600-meter relay team in the 2004 Athens Olympics, though the International Olympic Committee held off making a decision on whether to disqualify the American team.

Cox, who admitted in 2010 to using anabolic steroids, accepted a four-year suspension by the IOC’s executive board on Saturday while her results from 2001 to 2004 were disqualified. She ran in only the preliminaries at the Athens Games. Sanya Richards, Dee Dee Trotter, Monique Henderson and Monique Hennegan ran in the final for the U.S.

IOC officials said it is up to the governing body of track, the International Assn. of Athletics Federations, to make a decision on whether to disqualify the U.S. from the gold.

An entire relay team can be disqualified because one member, even an alternate, was caught doping, according to current IAAF rules. IOC spokesman Mark Adams said it wasn’t clear whether that IAAF rule was in effect at the time of the 2004 Games.

“It is now within the remit of the IAAF to interpret its rules as to whether the disqualification of the athlete would have any effect on the results of the U.S. relay team,” the IOC said.

If the U.S. is stripped of the victory, runner-up Russia would receive the gold and third-place Jamaica would get the silver. Britain would become the bronze medalist.

Associated Press contributed to this report.

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