The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 20

C2 TUESDAY, MAY 28, 2002 Sports THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR WWW.INDYSTAR.COM 13M MONTH Strange circumstances keep sprinter off track OF MAY OLYMPIC AND AMATEUR SPORTS David Woods s. i might be. WADA has drafted new rules to distinguish cheats from athletes who test positive for substances that don't enhance performance. The existing banned list includes hundreds of steroids, stimulants and narcotics. Rune Andersen, director of standards and harmonization for WADA, said the current list has been criticized for being too expansive.

"It's the cheaters we want to catch, those who really enhance performance by taking something," Andersen told The Associated Press. Track and field notes World record-holder and Olympic champion Maurice Greene watched Sunday's Prefontaine Classic 100 meters from the infield grass near the finish line. Nike is the main sponsor of the Eugene, Ore, meet, and Greene just signed a contract with adidas. Elsewhere, Indianapolis residents Collette Liss (9:03.08) and Priscilla Hein (9:17.61) were seventh and 11th in the women's 3,000 meters. Indianapolis is not among the cities being considered for the 2003 indoor nationals, according to USATF spokeswoman Jill Geer.

The move from the New York Armory is being made to accommodate construction for the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, which was formerly in the RCA Dome. The dome was site of the NCAA indoor meet from 1989-99. DePauw has been selected to be host for the 2003 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships on March 14-15. The Greencastle campus has a six-lane Mondo track and an eight-lane straightaway. Sports of all sorts Diving: Purdue coach Wenbo Chen will lead a U.S.

team that will compete in a Grand Prix meet that opens today in Xian City, China. Gymnastics: The head of the Romanian federation has acknowledged that ages of some female gymnasts were falsified to allow them to compete at senior levels. Four gymnasts, including 1992 Olympic medalist Gina Gogean, have claimed coaches and officials forced them to declare themselves older. The international federation raised the minimum age for senior competitions from 14 to IS in 1986 and again from 15 to 16 in 1997. Call David Woods at 1-317-444-6195.

Frank Eiplch staff photo his driver, Paul Tracy, passed Helio Castroneves just before the yellow caution flag came out and should be declared the winner of the race. If he is a drug cheat, Justin Gatlin should not be allowed to help Tennessee seek a second consecutive men's title at this week's NCAA Track and Field Championships. If he is not, he should be allowed to run in the 2002 USA Track Field nationals and the trials for the 2003 World Championships. Actually, no one claims Gatlin cheated. Nonetheless, he has been suspended for two years by the IAAF, track's world governing body.

No wonder athletes react to anti-doping authorities with cynicism and suspicion. Flagrant violators go undetected and unpunished, and unsuspecting athletes are sacrificed to uphold the letter of the law. This is Gatlin's story. For 10 years, he has taken prescription medicine for an undisclosed condition. The medicine contains amphetamine, a stimulant, which is banned by the IAAF but not the NCAA.

Gatlin discontinued the medication for several days before the USA Junior Championships on June 16-17, 2001, but trace amounts were found in his urine. Gatlin was thus stripped of junior titles won in the 100 and 200 meters and 110-meter hurdles. He is banned from next month's USA Championships, too. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled Gatlin's violation was inadvertent and supports early reinstatement. "Mr.

Gatlin neither cheated nor did he intend to cheat," the court's arbitrators said. "He did not intend to enhance his performance nor, given his medical condition, did his medication in fact enhance his performance. At most, his mistake was not in raising his medical condition for a review with the appropriate authorities before the race, instead of after it" Gatlin, 20, of Pensacola, is no ordinary sprinter. Barring injury or suspension, he could be a world champion as early as next year. He won NCAA titles in both the 100 and 200 as a freshman.

His 200-meter time of 19.86 seconds in the Southeastern Conference meet has been bettered by only three collegians Joe DeLoach, Ato Bol-don and Michael Johnson. De-Loach and Johnson were Olympic gold medalists in the 200, and Bol-don was a world champion. Gatlin's Chicago attorney, John Collins, told the Knoxville News-Sentinel he is optimistic the IAAF will grant early reinstatement. But given USA Track Field's squabbles over releasing the names of drug violators, the IAAF could adopt a hard line. If the IAAF is not sympathetic, the World Anti-Doping Agency DIdnt go his way: Barry Green heads team filed a protest about the finish Protest Members from both racing teams attended 2-hour hearing.

From CI But according to IRL rules, drivers are required to stop competing as soon as either light appears. Racing back to the startfinish line, a practice used in NASCAR, is forbidden because it takes time away from rescue workers assisting any drivers involved in a crash. Barnhart said he confirmed the lights were on in the cars by calculating data from on-board computers, electronic lines embedded in. the track and wheel sensors in the cars. The IRL also considered testimony from several drivers, including Tracy, teammate Dario Franchitti and defending seridS champion Sam Hornish Jr.

"There was no information withheld," Barnhart said. "We felt very 0 0 0 Hans vvus CtiENT HAT in for Monday's hearing. Green's of Sunday's 500. Green contended Rookies of the Year Alex Barron finished 4th, started 26th Tomas Scheckter finished 26th, led 85 laps confident that the decision stands." Barnhart did not present the evidence in an afternoon news conference at the IRL's office on West 16th Street, citing the complexities of the computer graphs. Members of both teams attended the two-hour hearing, which everyone called "professional" Barnhart also was comfortable with whatappeared to be a four-second delay between the time Buddy Lazier and rookie Laurent Redon crashed in the second turn and the time the yellow light came on.

"That's a fairly accurate time frame," he said. "One, I didn't want to call an unnecessary yellow (because) I wanted to do everything we could 500 Bobby Unser won in '81, lost the victory, then had it restored. From CI motor racing. "Now if it were to go like the '81 deal, that hurts motor racing. But this won't.

It's not like the last time. It's not politics." Unser said he and Penske were unfairly singled out in 1981 by politically motivated USAC enemies. Video replays showed that Unser passed several cars under caution before blending into the single-file line. A day after Unser rolled into victory lane, he was stripped of the triumph and Andretti, who finished second, was named the winner. In the end, after a court-like proceeding, the board agreed with Penske's assertion that the Unser penalty didn't fit the crime, especially since other drivers in the race also failed to immediately blend in line.

Unser was fined $40,000 but kept his victory. Today, it's a decision Andretti dislikes discussing and with which he still vehemently disagrees. "The debacle there in 1981, 1 think they learned a few things and won't repeat that idiotic situation," said Andretti, whose son Michael finished seventh on Sunday. "At the end of the day, I don't think there will be anything lasting. "A victory is a victory.

When you've got it, you've got it. The circumstances are forgettable. Your name is on the board and you've got Horton It would be hard for IRL to change its original decision. From C1 Maybe Team Green's Paul Tracy actually won the race. But because the race will be tainted for the coming weeks and it will, for racing outsiders and insiders does not mean Castroneves' should be tainted.

This is a problem the IRL has to work out for itself. It shouldn't be Castroneves' problem, too. How can you be upset with Castroneves, when he merely was playing by the rules no matter how ridiculous they are and trying to win the race, just like every driver? I know, I know: There are people who think this was a political decision because Castroneves is an IRL driver and Tracy a driver for Championship Auto Racing Teams. 'That's not the case. I have some issifes with to finish under a green flag," he said.

"Keep in mind the Speedway's logistics; we can't see all the way around the track and there are human reaction, communication and execution times." Had the light come on sooner, it's likely team owner Barry Green wouldn't have protested Tracy's position because TV replays clearly show he was a car-length behind when the crashed occurred. No one disputes the fact Barnhart had to make a split-second decision. Castroneves said Tracy couldn't have passed him on the outside of turn three if he had not slowed down to acknowledge the caution. "That's a very tough place to pass," he said. Barnhart emphasized the remarkable factors that created this controversy, the first of its kind in the 500 since Bobby Unser and Mario An-dretti got tangled in a dispute over the 1981 victory.

Unser was officially declared the winner in October by a 2-1 vote of an appeals board "There are so many different vari I- v. Yva. 'lit File photo Lonely victory: Mario Andretti, who finished second in 1981, was brought back the day after the 500 and photographed with the Borg-Warner Trophy and traditional bottle of milk after officials took the win away from Bobby Unser. the trophy. Years later, nobody really cares about the circumstances of how you win." Andretti, almost always on the opposite side of Unser on issues, doesn't see how racing's recent controversy can be a positive, especially for fans who have had a bitter taste about the the IRL, but figuring the organization is a bunch of cheaters who want to win at all costs isn't one of them.

Plus, Barnhart used to work for both car owners, Roger Penske and Barry Green. That said, I do think it would be hard for the IRL to overturn its earlier decision to name Castroneves the winner, especially at this point. How much face would the organization lose if it changed its mind after a six-hour delay on race day, a long protest hearing the day after the race and a possible 30-day appeal process? There's a great chance the IRL will look like a silly villain of "Batman" after all this anyway. Its decision to not come forth and share with the public the evidence it used to make Monday's decision creates a lot more questions, most prominently: Is there something to hide? One advantage for the IRL in all of this, however, is that the affable Castroneves is the driver who benefited from this fiasco. 9 ables that had to align themselves," Barnhart said.

"This was such an incredible set of circumstances to have what has transpired." Barnhart also downplayed the possibility of a conspiracy to side with an IRL team over a member of the rival series, Championship Auto Racing Teams. "I think if anybody looked at how quick things happened from race control, the thought of IRL teams versus CART teams can't even remotely cross into my mind," he said. "You make decisions based on safety and what's best for the competitor." Meanwhile Monday, Redon, an IRL regular, was released from Methodist Hospital. He suffered a concussion in the accident and was held overnight for precautionary reasons. He has not been cleared to compete.

Castroneves' winner's check broke the record of $1,568 million won by Arie Luyendyk in 1997. The total purse exceeded $10 million for the first time in race history. Call Curt Cavin at 1-317-444-6409 sport since Championship Auto Rac-, ing Teams departed from the Speedway in 1996 and the IRL was born. "Ultimately, yeah, controversy brings publicity," Andretti said, "but controversy isn't positive. The race was a hell of a race and you hate to see it end that way.

"When you have all these doubts, it's never good. I've experienced the worst from prolonging these things." Four-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser was one of the few visitors to the IRL office on Monday. He was there to drop off a radio. He finished 17th in 1981. "None of us want this," Unser said.

"There isn't any of us that wants this to happen. But, sometimes, things happen. "It's just a shame. We didn't need it. There isn't any sport that needs it." Unser doesn't have fond memories of 1981, but for different reasons than Andretti.

"I was in the race, but yet I could give a damn because I didn't win it," he said. Andretti spoke with Tracy and his Team Green teammate Dario Franchitti about the controversial pass. He said Franchitti was more certain about the pass being made before the yellow. Tracy was more concerned with keeping an eye on Castroneves' car, Andretti said. Neither Unser nor Andretti doubt that Tracy had the stronger car in the final laps and probably would have passed Castroneves if an accident hadn't brought out a yellow.

"It made for one hell of a race," Unser said. "And this just made it all the more exciting." Call Phillip B. Wilson at 1-317-444-6642 It's much too hard to hate Castroneves. He's so good looking, it's scary sometimes. He almost never frowns, even as people question whether he won Sunday's race.

No race could have a better representative as its champion. This guy is so magnetic that he managed to inspire the stiff-collared Penske to climb the fence in the Brickyard. That's saying something, I don't care how much money Castro- The more Castroneves, the IRL's points leader, goes on the track and tears things up for the remainder of the season, the better the league looks. Castroneves knows all about being a great ambassador for racing's greatest event. He was a 500 champion before Sunday.

Unfortunately, that's one of the few indisputable things about this race right now. C. Jemal Horton is a sports columnist for The Indianapolis Star. Contact him at 1-317-444-6514 or via e-mail at jemal.hortonindystar.com 0 You Can Cet Your HaIr BacI This Summer From onIv $595 foR a lirviiTEd TiME onIv! CaII now foR a FREE ConsuItatIon J- Get a FREE MiCROscopic HaIr ancJ ScAlp ANAlysis wiTh iUe Latest VidEO MicROscopE ANd a FREE Brochure 888.787.71177 Ext. 121 If mm Wil LJS Over 85 LocAiioNs NAliONWidE i.