Now for the Real Test

But Graham, who like Gatlin was under contract with Nike before Gatlin's positive test, also has coached more than a half-dozen athletes charged with doping violations. In November, he was indicted on federal charges of lying to investigators in the BALCO probe and faces a possible 15 years in prison.

Graham denied any involvement in doping Gatlin. A day after Gatlin announced the positive test result, however, Graham claimed he knew who was responsible. "We know who the person is who actually did this," Graham said. ". . . We hope this individual has the guts to come forward and say he did it."

In subsequent interviews, Graham pointed to Chris Whetstine, a massage therapist who Graham said lathered the runner's legs with what he believes was a steroid-based cream at the race in Kansas. Graham said he believed Whetstine had sabotaged Gatlin in an act of vengeance, possibly over a months-old financial dispute between the two or as part of a deeper plot to get back at Graham for his role in setting off the BALCO probe.

Whetstine, who lives in Eugene, Ore., denied the accusation through an attorney. Others ridiculed Graham's assertions as preposterous. Unsure what to believe, Gatlin's attorneys hired a private investigator in June to trail both Graham and Whetstine, though the probe turned up little.

If there was a conspiracy, the trail had seemingly gone cold. Except for one interesting fact: The results of the lab report on Gatlin's urine sample, which was obtained by The Washington Post, were consistent with the heavy application of the type of steroid cream that Graham said he saw Whetstine rub on Gatlin, according to two chemists who reviewed the results. The lab report showed the presence of small amounts of synthetic testosterone precursors in Gatlin's urine. Both chemists added that it was impossible to state conclusively that the cream was the source.

The chemists, who have no connection to Gatlin or his legal team, spoke on condition of anonymity because they did not want to be publicly associated with the case.

One of the chemists said Gatlin would have been foolish to have allowed himself to be massaged with the product Graham said Whetstine was using -- and that Graham would have been foolish to have sanctioned its use on his star sprinter, for that matter -- because its active ingredient was Dehydroepiandrosterone, also known as DHEA.

DHEA is not known to enhance athletic performance. On top of that, according to specialists in the field, it is easily detected.

"The only reason someone would give DHEA to an athlete," one of the chemists said in an e-mail, "would be to assure a positive test."

A Controversial Massage

Elite track and field athletes are massaged nearly every day during the competitive season, often with anti-inflammatory creams. Massage therapists are considered so vital to helping athletes recover that some shoe and management companies sign them to contracts and pay for them to travel with their athletes.

Gatlin made regular visits to a personal massage therapist during the winters in Raleigh, N.C., and in the spring and summer took advantage of the services of Whetstine, who was under contract with Nike and has worked with Nike-sponsored athletes since at least 1998.

Whetstine arrived in Raleigh in late March, Graham said, and was the only one who massaged Gatlin before the Kansas Relays. In the days leading to the April 22 drug test, Whetstine massaged Gatlin two or three times, Graham, a track official and athletes from Gatlin's group recalled.