This type of cheating and the fact that they are cheating is inexcusable. They are frauds and deserve to be honored as such. They are among the lowest forms of life that steal glory from those that truly deserve it. As far as I am concerned, they are up there with murders due to the fact that they essentially steal people's hopes, dreams, and life's-work. The might have well stole there lives.
I can only imagine all of the hard work and life’s-dedication that an athlete puts forth in order to compete at such a high level. It is down-right criminal to win an event such as this against those that do it with just hard work, dedication, and a dream. Imagine being someone who truly dedicates themselves to a sport and works tirelessly to achieve a goal, only to have a low-life cheat an opportunity of a life-time from you. Those people who cheat like Antonio Pettigrew should be locked-up and have there dreams stolen from them. This is despicable, unforgivable, and down-right criminal in my opinion.
Michael Johnson to return Olympic relay medal
Last Updated: Tuesday, June 3, 2008 | 11:26 AM - Sports Antonio Pettigrew, Alvin and Calvin Harrison and Michael Johnson of the USA on the podium after winning gold in the Mens 4x400m Relay Final at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. (Mike Powell/Getty Images)U.S. athlete Michael Johnson says he will return the men's 4x400-metre relay gold medal he won at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
He said he is "shocked" by former teammate Antonio Pettigrew's doping admission made while testifying at the trial of disgraced U.S. track coach Trevor Graham on May 22. Pettigrew admitted to using banned substances throughout his career.
Johnson wrote in a column on Tuesday in London's Daily Telegraph newspaper that he no longer wants the medal and feels "cheated, betrayed and let down."
"The news that Antonio was scheduled to testify to having taken performance-enhancing drugs shocked me like no other drug-related story," Johnson wrote. "He was someone I considered a friend."
Pettigrew's admission makes him the latest member of the 2000 relay team to be tainted by drugs. Two other members of the team, twin brothers Alvin and Calvin Harrison, both served suspensions for doping.
Alvin Harrison admitted to doping in 2004 and was given a four-year ban, while Calvin tested positive in 2003 and was given a two-year ban.
Michael Johnson holds the world record in the 200 and 400 metres and has won five Olympic gold medals.
Another of Johnson's relay teammates, Jerome Young, tested positive for steroids in 1999. He nevertheless ran in the preliminary 4x400 heats at the Sydney Olympics, and, as a result, the team was stripped of its gold medal in 2004. At the time, Johnson and Pettigrew fought to keep the medal, which was reinstated the following year in an appeal.
Johnson said he is "amazed that [Pettigrew] could talk to me about this knowing all along that he was guilty and that the medal was tainted anyway."
Johnson wrote that he is disappointed in the sport of athletics, and that he was naive to defend it to a media that focused on doping and not the accomplishments of the athletes.
He said, however, that he will "not give up on this sport" and will continue to support young athletes.
source: http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/athletics/story/2008/06/03/athletics-michaeljohnson.html
With files from the Associated Press
