Hammer Thrower Says Pan Am Drug Testing Faulty

Bill Green, the hammer thrower from Torrance who was stripped of the silver medal he earned at the Pan American Games because of a positive drug test, said Monday that he did not violate any rules and that the testing procedures were faulty.

“I did nothing wrong,” Green said in a telephone interview.

Pan Am officials said that Green tested positive for excessive amounts of testosterone, the male hormone from which muscle-building anabolic steroids are derived.

Green said that officials did not follow proper procedure in informing him that he was selected to undergo a drug test after his competition Aug. 10. He said it was not until about an hour after his event that he was told to report for testing. He said he should have been informed in writing of his selection almost immediately after the hammer throw.

He also said there was a wide variation in the reported results of his test. Officials announced that Green had a ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone of 11.2 to 1. Green said he was told his test levels went as high as 15 to 1. He said such variation cast doubt on the validity of the test. A ratio of 1 to 1 is considered normal for the average male and a ratio of 6 to 1 is considered a positive test.

Green contends that his natural level is significantly higher than the statistical average.

“There were no foreign substances found in my body,” Green said. “I took no drugs.”