Report: Pettigrew to give back Olympic gold

DENVER -- Antonio Pettigrew agreed Tuesday to return the Olympic relay gold medal he won in 2000 after admitting to doping during the Sydney Games.

During last month's trial involving former track coach Trevor Graham, Pettigrew came clean about using EPO and human growth hormone from 1997 to 2003. Graham was found guilty of lying to federal investigators about his relationship to a steroids dealer.

Pettigrew's decision to give up the gold for the 1,600-meter relay was expected. A person at the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency told The Associated Press about the decision, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not yet announced.

USADA was to make the sanctions public later Tuesday. Pettigrew gave back the medal and all the other prizes he'd earned since 1997, including world championships in the 4x400 relays in 1997 and 1999.

The 40-year-old assistant track coach at North Carolina also accepted a two-year ban from track, though that point is largely symbolic given his age.

Pettigrew's decision came a day after one of his relay teammates at the Sydney Olympics, Michael Johnson, said he would voluntarily give his medal back in the wake of Pettigrew's testimony.

"I feel cheated, betrayed and let down," Johnson wrote in a column in Tuesday's Daily Telegraph.

Pettigrew's testimony means that three of the four runners from the U.S. relay team in the 2000 Olympic finals have been tainted by drugs.

Twins Alvin and Calvin Harrison both were suspended for doping violations. Alvin Harrison accepted a four-year ban in 2004 after admitting he used performance enhancers. Calvin Harrison tested positive for a banned stimulant in 2003 and was suspended for two years. Like Pettigrew, they were coached by Graham.