Edwards’ Hopes Dashed?

Torri Edwards, expected to contend for a medal in the 100- and 200-meter sprints at the Summer Olympics, instead faces a two-year suspension after a positive test for the banned stimulant nikethamide.

Track and field’s worldwide governing body, the International Assn. of Athletics Federations, on Thursday imposed the ban. An IAAF official on Friday declined to comment.

The decision was forwarded to U.S. authorities and now must be reviewed by a U.S.-based arbitration panel. Barring a reversal there, or a successful appeal to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport, Edwards’ 2004 Olympic aspirations are lost. The Games begin Friday; U.S. officials have a few days after that to finalize the track and field roster.

“I don’t want to talk now,” Edwards, 27, a USC graduate, said Friday by telephone.

The IAAF action was first reported in the Chicago Tribune.

Edwards has acknowledged that she ingested the stimulant but said it was inadvertent. She said she ate glucose pills between races at a meet in the French Caribbean resort of Martinique, only to learn afterward that the pills, bought locally, were laced with nikethamide.

Edwards finished second in the 100 and third in the 200 at last month’s Olympic trials in Sacramento.

If Edwards is ultimately ruled ineligible for the 2004 Olympics, Gail Devers would get the open spot in the 100, Lashaunta’e Moore the slot in the 200.

It remains unclear if Devers would take the 100 spot; she has also qualified in the 100-meter high hurdles. If Devers elects not to run in the 100, Marion Jones, who finished fifth in the trials, could get the chance to defend the gold medal she won in the 100 at the 2000 Sydney Games.

Times Staff Writer Helene Elliott contributed to this report.