BRUSSELS, Belgium - American Kelli White avoided a suspension that would have kept her out of the Athens Olympics and vowed Wednesday to use all means possible to keep her two World Championship golds.
Hours after track and field's world governing body said White tested positive for a minor stimulant that did not merit a suspension, White announced her plans to run the 100 meters at the Van Damme Memorial here Friday.
"I do intend to fight to keep the medals," said White, who won the 100 and 200 at worlds. "My reputation being tarnished is worse than losing the medals or even the two-year ban."
White insisted she deserved no punishment for using modafinil, a drug she said was prescribed for the sleep disorder narcolepsy that is not specifically mentioned on the anti-doping list. Track officials ruled it could be a related substance covered by its rules.
Istvan Gyulai, general secretary of the International Association of Athletics Federations, said the IAAF will review White's medical records and decide Monday if she committed a doping offense. If the IAAF rules White was doping, it will ask U.S. anti-doping officials to begin disciplinary procedures - a process that with appeals could take a year or more.
COLLEGES: NCAA focus on Auburn
The NCAA formally notified Auburn it is investigating possible major rules violations in its men's basketball program, including allegedly making improper offers and inducements to recruits. The university received a letter detailing the alleged violations, which involve one former and one current assistant coach. They were not named. Auburn officials have until Nov.5 to respond to the NCAA but can request more time. Auburn has worked with the NCAA to look into charges of impropriety brought by a self-described sports agent, Mike Walker, over the recruitment of Jackie Butler of McComb, Miss. Butler's attorney, Donald Jackson, said Walker told the NCAA Butler and his family received inappropriate benefits from AAU coach Mark Komara and Auburn. Jackson denied the allegations.
DOTSON EXTRADITION: Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed a warrant seeking the extradition of former Baylor basketball player Carlton Dotson from Maryland. Dotson is accused of murder in the death of Patrick Dennehy, his former teammate. The formal extradition request was sent to Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich.
VOLLEYBALL: Hudson's Alison Baker had nine kills for host Saint Leo, which fell 3-0 to Puerto Rico.
HORSES: Stevens ready to ride
Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens is scheduled to return to riding Friday, barely three weeks after he was seriously injured in a fall. Stevens will ride Fly to the Wire for trainer Herb Bacon in the El Cajon Stakes at Del Mar. Stevens, a star in the summer hit movie Seabiscuit, fell at the finish of the Arlington (Ill.) Million on Aug.16. He had a collapsed lung and broken vertebra in his upper back and was expected to miss at least a month.
PREPS: Female athletes increase
More high school students are playing sports in the United States, with girls quickly closing the participation gap. Boys still outnumber girls by more than a million, according to the latest survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations. But most of the difference comes from football; there is no girls sport with comparable numbers.
NFHS has surveyed member associations since 1971, and the number of girls competing in one or more sports rose by more than 49,000 last year to a record 2,856,358. The number of boys increased just over 28,000 to 3,988,738, not a record but the most in 25 years. Texas remained the state with the most participants (771,633); Florida was ninth (212,408).
ET CETERA
RUNNING: Khalid Khannouchi, a four-time winner of the Chicago Marathon, will not defend his title in October. The 31-year-old had to reduce the intensity of his training because of injury.
