BARCELONA ’92 OLYMPICS : Is the IAAF Done With Reynolds? : Track and field: World governing body considers further sanctions against 400-meter record-holder.

Less than 48 hours before Butch Reynolds’ two-year suspension for failing a drug test is scheduled to end on August 12, the governing body for track and field, the International Amateur Athletic Federation, might call for an extraordinary meeting of its council to determine whether further disciplinary action should be taken against the world record-holder in the 400 meters.

The IAAF’s general secretary, Istvan Gyulai of Hungary, said Wednesday that Reynolds’ case is not on the agenda for the council’s regularly scheduled meeting here today, one day before the Summer Olympics track and field competition begins.

But he added that some of the 25 members have requested another session after the Olympics end on Aug. 9 to discuss whether Reynolds’ suspension should be extended because of his ongoing legal battle against the federation and its U.S. affiliate, The Athletics Congress.

“There is an attitude that further disciplinary action should be taken,” Gyulai said. “There is a another attitude that the IAAF shouldn’t be a vindictive organization. There is an attitude that the sport should be clean. We will take all these attitudes into consideration, and the decision will be taken with responsibility.”

Asked to gauge the prevailing attitude, he said: “There is a great feeling that what he did was not in the best interest of the sport.”

Reynolds, of Columbus, Ohio, tested positive for an anabolic steroid on Aug. 12, 1990, after a meet in Nice, France. Through a series of legal challenges, which reached the Supreme Court, he won the right to compete in the U.S. Olympic trials last month at New Orleans.

IAAF officials warned at the time that Reynolds faced another suspension of up to two years if he ran. He did and finished fifth. Only the first three earned automatic berths in the 400 meters on the Olympic team.

Gyulai said council members who are angry at Reynolds for persisting in the legal battle might be favorably disposed toward him if he apologizes.

“I probably would be happy if this could be settled by an apology,” Gyulai said. “But I am not asking for one. We are not going to negotiate a bargain.”

Although Reynolds insists he never used banned performance-enhancing drugs, Gyulai said that the IAAF stands behind the results of its drug testing.

“The IAAF is convinced that he is a cheat,” he said.