LONDON - Track and field's governing body is considering retesting drug samples from the World Championships to search for the designer steroid at the heart of a U.S. doping scandal.
The International Association of Athletics Federations said Monday it may reopen the estimated 400 urine samples taken during the Aug. 23-31 championships in France.
Any positive tests could lead to retroactive disqualifications and two-year bans. "We don't want to leave potential cheaters untouched," said IAAF general secretary Istvan Gyulai.
In potentially the biggest drug bust in sports history, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced last week that several athletes tested positive for a previously undetectable steroid - tetrahydrogestrinone, or THG - in urine samples from the U.S. track and field championships in June and from some other screenings.
USADA chief executive officer Terry Madden called it a widespread conspiracy involving chemists, athletes and coaches.
The athletes who tested positive haven't been identified pending analysis of their B samples.
GOLF: Hall of Fame honors
Nick Price, a dominant player in the 1980s and '90s and still among the top 15 in PGA Tour earnings and the world rankings at age 46, was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame at St. Augustine along with LPGA superstar Annika Sorenstam, the late Leo Diegel (veteran's category) and Japanese star Chako Higuchi (lifetime achievement). Diegel, who died in 1951, won 31 times on the PGA Tour, including the PGA Championship in 1928 and '29. Higuchi is the only Japanese player to win a major, capturing the 1977 LPGA Championship. She won more than 70 titles on the Japanese tour. Sorenstam, 33, has 47 wins in 10 years.
WOMEN INDUCTEES: WNBA star Lisa Leslie and world record-holding swimmer Natalie Coughlin of the University of California were honored as 2003 Sportswomen of the Year by the Women's Sports Foundation, which also introduced four new members of the International Women's Hall of Fame: track and field's Jackie Joyner-Kersee, diver Min Gao, squash player Heather McKay and former Arizona State golf coach Linda Vollstedt.
COLLEGES: Colgate to offer grants
Breaking from its long-standing tradition of awarding financial aid solely on need, Colgate announced it will begin offering a limited number of athletic scholarships as part of a plan "to enhance excellence in programs across the campus." The policy will take effect next fall.
BASKETBALL: The Division II Bulletin has Eckerd 25th in its preseason men's rankings behind co-Sunshine State Conference members Rollins (No. 7) and Florida Southern (17). The rankings are compiled by Bulletin staffers.
GOLF: The USF women moved from fourth to second in the Mission Inn Fall Classic at Mission Hills in Howie-in-the Hills, trailing Rollins by 10 strokes.
UNLV PROBE: Six more athletes, including men's basketball starters J.K. Edwards and James Peters, will be suspended for using a personal identification number to make phone calls without permission, school officials said.
ET CETERA
HORSES: Reigning horse of the year Azeri will not run in the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita on Saturday because of an illness.
BOXING: Unable to line up a big-money fight with Mike Tyson because of Tyson's legal problems, WBA heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr. said in the meantime he will fight light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver on Nov. 8 in Las Vegas.
TENNIS: Top-ranked Juan Carlos Ferrero withdrew from the Swiss Indoors in Basel, citing a sore foot and groin. Andy Roddick becomes the top seed in the tournament that begins today.
SOFTBALL: Japan defeated the United States 3-2 in extra innings to win consecutive women's world junior championships in Beijing.
