The International Olympic Committee has admitted it has no grounds to punish American runner Jerome Young over allegations he failed a drug test but still ran in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
IOC Director General Francois Carrard said today his organization has no jurisdiction over the case and is asking the International Association of Athletics Federations to investigate.
The IAAF's anti-doping chief, Arne Ljungqvist, said Wednesday the governing body cannot act because of a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The CAS ruled that USA Track and Field does not have to disclose details of 13 positive cases from 1996 to 2000.
The IOC and the World Anti-Doping Agency have been investigating whether Young tested positive for a banned drug in 1999 but then ran on the 2000 Olympic team. Young won a gold medal as a part of the U.S. 4X400 meters relay team in Sydney.
The U.S. Olympic Committee said reopening the case would serve no purpose and would be a setback in the fight against doping. The USOC says the case was handled according to the rules of the time and opening it now would be impractical.