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Inger Miller tests positive for caffeine
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- No more coffee before a race for Inger Miller, and definitely only caffeine-free soda afterward. The former world champion at 200 meters, who was stripped of a bronze medal she won at the 1999 world indoor championships after testing positive for caffeine, says the stimulant was given to her by the meet organizers. The 29-year-old Californian acknowledged having her usual morning coffee before the race, but she also drank a couple of cans of Coke that were given to her afterward. The meet in Maebashi, Japan, was sponsored by Coca-Cola. "It's perplexing. I was provided with it and now I'm getting a sanction for that," Miller said after her final appeal was turned down by USA Track & Field. "It wasn't something that I intentionally tried to take to drink, you know, two pots of coffee or two six-packs of Coke, or anything like that. "I've been more careful since this incident happened. ... Obviously, the day of the race I'm not going to drink any caffeinated product. That's just the way it is now," she said with a laugh. The caffeine was detected in routine testing by the International Association of Athletic Federations, the world governing body for track and field. USATF disclosed on Friday that Miller's appeal had been rejected and that her third-place finish in the 60 meters had been thrown out. A USATF spokesman said it took more than two years to complete the process of appeals. "It was an IAAF drug test. They notified us of the positive and we had an obligation to give Miss Miller an administrative hearing procedure, which we did," said Jill Pilgrim, legal counsel for USATF. Pilgrim said the disqualification and public warning that came with it did not affect subsequent competition. "There's no period of ineligibility or suspension. She was eligible whether she was found guilty the day of or now," Pilgrim said. But Miller still doesn't know how much caffeine she had in her system. "It's a concentration number, not necessarily a volume. It's kind of confusing," she said. "A cup of coffee is one thing, but the small cups they served at the hotel, I don't know if that's a cup, a half a cup. ... It's difficult for me to say how much I had as far as micrograms (of caffeine) per liter. "Who's to say that I was legal when I was running the race and then the two Cokes I drank that they provided me put me over the limit? I don't know that. They don't know that. There's no way to recreate the situation, yet I'm the one held to high expectations. "It is angering to me, but there's nothing more I can do," she added. "I can only go on with my life." Miller won the 200 in Seville, Spain, later that year. She missed last year's Sydney Olympics because of a hamstring injury but won a gold medal in a 400-meter relay featuring Marion Jones at this year's world championships in Edmonton, Alberta. She failed to qualify for the 200 finals.
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