Dionne Asks to Stay Despite Suspension

Michael Dionne has asked to be allowed to stay at the Olympics, even though he’s suspended in a doping case and has no chance to compete.

The bobsled pusher from Alpharetta, Ga., went before the International Court for Arbitration in Sports on Monday to appeal his three-month ban for using ephedrine.

Dionne told the panel he had inadvertently taken the drug as part of a cold medicine, and asked that his suspension from competition be wiped out.

There was no word when the panel would announce its decision.

Dionne was allowed to march in the opening ceremony Saturday when the U.S. Olympic Committee brokered a 96-hour stay of his suspension. But he won’t be able to compete even if the suspension is overturned, because the USOC has substituted for him in the No. 3 four-man sled and the deadline for further roster changes has passed.

Although the urine sample was collected at a World Cup meet in Calgary last November, Dionne’s suspension was not announced until last week. It was made retroactive to the date of the test, so he wouldn’t be eligible to compete again until Feb. 22, the last day of the Games.

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A promising bobsledder hoping to compete in the next Winter Olympics was killed during the weekend when he was struck by a pickup truck while walking along a highway near Marlboro, N.J.

Clark “C.J.” Ferry had gone out with friends and was hit by the truck on Route 9 early Saturday morning , his uncle, Bill Ferry, said Monday.

“He was a normal 21-year-old out on a Friday night,” said Bill Ferry, adding he did not know why his nephew was walking along the road. “He had gone out with someone else in their car. Then we were told he was killed. That’s all we know.”

Ferry was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the truck, James Takacs, 33, was not injured.

No charges have been filed, said Lt. Kenneth Gann of the Marlboro police traffic bureau. The investigation is continuing and police are awaiting the results of toxicology tests.

Police have determined Takacs was not under the influence of alcohol, Gann said.

Ferry was one of 25 bobsledders on the national development team, which trains for domestic and World Cup competitions. The U.S. Olympic bobsledding team is selected from the development squad.

Ferry began bobsledding about two years ago when he impressed trainers at a tryout on the Seaside Heights boardwalk. Ferry and some friends paid about $3 apiece to push a bobsled down a small track, Bill Ferry said.

“It was kind of a fluke,” the uncle said. “He and a group of kids had gone to the beach for the day. You know, they were macho 18-year-old kids and they said ‘Let’s give it a shot.’ ”