Olympic Medalist’s Drug Ban Upheld

Olympic gold medalist Michelle Smith de Bruin lost an appeal Monday to lift her drug ban.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, dismissed the case by the Irish swimmer, who was banned by the sport’s governing body amid accusations she had tampered with a urine sample.

FINA, the international swimming federation, suspended Smith on Aug. 6, 1998, after finding her guilty of manipulating the drug test. FINA said the samples were contaminated by large amounts of alcohol, which could mask the presence of performance-enhancing drugs.

The three-member CAS panel rejected Smith’s defense that the samples were not hers or that a third party was responsible. The panel also dismissed Smith’s contention that the burden of proof was upon FINA.

Smith emerged from obscurity to win three gold medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. The ban disqualifies her from the 2000 Olympics and 2001 World Championships.

Pro Football

Second-year quarterback Ryan Leaf was criticized by some of his San Diego Charger teammates for missing the first three days of a voluntary summer workout.

Leaf reported Monday, but the session began last Wednesday.

“It’s time to grow up,” linebacker Lew Bush said. “Be a leader.”

Leaf said he was absent to honor charity commitments, some of which involved golf.

“I regret that it happened,” Leaf said. “I felt the coaches knew I wasn’t going to be here; Coach [Mike] Riley thought it would just be Friday. It was just a miscommunication on both our parts. I’m going to take responsibility for it.”

Said Bush: “Youth is one thing, ignorance is another. Hey, I don’t want to be here. I’ve got a whole lot better things than this right now. But after our season last year, our season before that . . . and we gave up a lot to get him.”

Todd Marinovich, the former USC and Raider quarterback, has reached an agreement with the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League.

Marinovich, 29, hasn’t played since 1994 after suffering a serious knee injury with the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The Cincinnati Bengals reinstated Tremain Mack, a kick returner and defensive back who has a history of drinking problems. Mack, 24, missed the final four games last season because of a drunken-driving arrest in October.

Golf

Casey Martin, who rides a golf cart because of a circulatory disorder in his right leg, failed to qualify for next week’s U.S. Open golf championship.

Martin had a morning round of 71 at Sand Ridge Golf Club in Chardon, Ohio, but a back nine 41 led to an afternoon round of 76.

Dennis Zinkon of Haines City, Fla., shot a five-under-par 139 to lead a trio of qualifiers that included Nike Tour player Jason Tyska and PGA Tour pro Gabriel Hjerstedt.

In Columbus, Ohio, Chris Smith, a non-winner in six years on the tour, had the low 36-hole score, while Lanny Wadkins, Ian Woosnam, Craig Stadler and David Frost missed out in qualifying.

The U.S. Open begins June 17 at the Pinehurst Country Club in Pinehurst, N.C.

Miscellany

Australia’s Jason Stoltenberg beat Zimbabwe’s Wayne Black, 6-3, 6-4, in the first round of the Queen’s Club tournament at London. A match between Boris Becker and Petr Korda was postponed with Becker leading, 1-0. . . . Top-seeded Patrick Rafter, beat Australian Andrew Ilie, 6-3, 7-5, in the first round of a tournament at Halle, Germany.

Eloise Hawkins, chairman and chief executive of the group that ran stock car races at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., has died after a battle with cancer. She was 82. . . . David “Smokey” Gaines, who coached Tony Gwynn and Michael Cage at San Diego State, will be named coach of San Diego Stingrays of the new International Basketball League on Wednesday. . . . Marion Jones, ranked No. 1 in the world in the long jump, will compete in that event Saturday at the Pontiac Grand Prix Invitational in Raleigh, N.C.