Sprinter Collins Accepts Four-Year Ban

Former world champion sprinter Michelle Collins accepted a four-year suspension for a doping violation, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Thursday.

Collins, who forfeits her titles in the 200 meters from the 2003 indoor world and U.S. championships, was suspended for eight years but appealed. USADA reduced it to four years, and she agreed to drop her appeal.

An arbitration panel found that Collins, 34, used banned substances provided by BALCO, the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative. She never tested positive, but the panel concluded she used the drugs for several years.

The panel determined she had participated in a doping conspiracy and used prohibited drugs, including the steroid THG and the endurance-enhancing hormone EPO. USADA based its case on patterns observed from blood and urine tests Collins had in recent years, along with documents seized from BALCO by federal prosecutors and statements made by BALCO officials.

Collins, who denies any wrongdoing, appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, in January. One of her attorneys, Brian Getz, said her decision to withdraw the appeal was based in part on injuries.

“It’s one thing to have a glittering career ahead and to be fighting USADA,” he said. “It’s another to be in a position where one can’t race because of injuries and to be fighting USADA.”

USADA lawyer Travis Tygart said the agreement would allow the agency to conserve resources for its monitoring, research and educational activities.

“The four-year sanction is in line with the other BALCO cases where the athletes did not cooperate,” he said.