USOC IDs Failed Drug Test Athletes

Sprint champion Kelli White was among seven American athletes — six in track and field and one in cycling — identified Tuesday by the U.S. Olympic Committee as having flunked drug tests this summer.

White and five others tested positive for the banned stimulant modafinil. Hammer thrower John McEwen tested positive for modafinil and the newly discovered steroid THG, and cyclist Adham Sbeih tested positive for the endurance-boosting hormone EPO.

The USOC announced the test results after the substances were found in two urine tests from each of the athletes, and following a 30-day review of the tests by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

All seven athletes are appealing their test results, the USOC said in a news release from its base in Colorado Springs, Colo., and any suspensions or other sanctions would come only after those appeals are exhausted.

White, of Union City, Calif., already faces the loss of her two gold medals at the World Championships because of modafinil use. The USOC said Tuesday that White also tested positive for modafinil at the U.S. track and field championships at Stanford, Calif., in June — where she also swept the 100 and 200 meter titles.

By winning at the national meet in June, White qualified for the world meet in August in France. She has claimed she was prescribed modafinil for the sleep disorder narcopelsy — a claim that has been ridiculed by international track officials since word emerged of other athletes using the banned stimulant.

Also testing positive for modafinil at the U.S. track and field championships were sprinter Chryste Gaines, of Lithonia, Ga.; 400-meter runner Sandra Glover of Sugarland, Texas; McEwen, of Ashland, Ohio, and hurdler Eric Thomas of Houston.

Hurdler Chris Phillips of Little Rock, Ark., tested positive for modafinil at the World Championships.

Sbeih of Sacramento, Calif., tested positive for EPO at the U.S. Cycling Federation's Elite Track National Champonships at Trexlertown, Pa., in August.

Modafinil use results in disqualification at the event at which a positive test has occurred. THG use could lead to a two-year ban for McEwen.

At least three other U.S. track and field athletes tested positive for THG this summer, and their cases are still being considered by USADA.