Jenkins Is Latest To Test Positive

American Sprinter Cited for Steroid

U.S. sprinter LaTasha Jenkins is the eighth athlete coached by Trevor Graham to face doping allegations. (Getty Images)

U.S. sprinter LaTasha Jenkins tested positive for a steroid at an international meet in July, according to sources who are familiar with the test results, becoming the third American in track and field to flunk a drug test this summer and at least the eighth athlete coached by Trevor Graham to face doping allegations.

Jenkins, 28, tested positive for the steroid nandrolone, a readily detectable steroid that in years past was found to be a common contaminant in dietary supplements. The testing on her sample, however, is incomplete, sources said. She will not be charged with a doping offense until the second half of her urine sample is examined. She faces a two-year ban from the sport.

Jenkins, a former NCAA 200-meter champion who has the 11th-fastest time in the world in the 100 meters (11.03 seconds) this summer, trains in Raleigh, N.C., with Graham's Sprint Capitol USA team.

The U.S. Olympic Committee barred Graham from its training centers three weeks ago for his connection to athletes who have tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and world governing body of track and field (IAAF) have opened a joint investigation into the drug allegations surrounding him.

Neither Graham nor Jenkins could be reached for comment. Jenkins's positive test was first reported yesterday on the Web site of the Chicago Tribune.

Justin Gatlin, a three-time Olympic medalist who shares the 100-meter world record, also trains with Graham and tested positive for testosterone or its precursors in April and faces a possible eight-year ban. Marion Jones, who tested positive for the endurance-aiding drug EPO in June, trained with Graham when she won five medals at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney but now works with Steve Riddick. She faces a two-year ban.

Cyclist Floyd Landis also tested positive for testosterone after winning the Tour de France, making it four prominent U.S. athletes who currently face drug-related bans from their sports.

Jenkins joined Graham last fall. She won the NCAA 200 title while at Ball State in 1999, then won the world indoor silver medal in 2001 while training under Norbert Elliott. She had moderate success internationally in 2002 and 2003, when she was ranked ninth in the world in the 200, but did not compete last year.

On Sunday, she finished second in the 100 to Me'Lisa Barber, who is also coached by Graham, at a meet in Monaco, posting a time of 11.18 seconds. Her best effort came in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium, where she won the 100 in 11.03 on July 22, topping fellow American Lauryn Williams. At the U.S. championships in June, she finished third in the 200 meters in 22.67.

Olympic sports were plagued by positive nandrolone tests in the late 1990s and early in this decade. Many athletes said they were victimized by contaminated dietary supplements. After studies backed those claims, anti-doping agencies warned athletes away from supplements, saying they could not avoid doping penalties by using contamination as an excuse for positive tests.

C.J. Hunter, who was coached by Graham when he tested positive for nandrolone several times in 2000, said he had taken contaminated substances.

Positive nandrolone tests have since declined. Drug experts say nandrolone is not popular among athletes who are drug-tested because the risk of detection is high.