The American sprinter Shawn Crawford, who won the 200 metre gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, has been banned for two years for failing to comply with out-of-competition dope testing even though his agent says he retired last year.
The United States Anti-doping Agency issued a statement saying Crawford had been handed a two-year suspension because he had failed to notify drug testers of his whereabouts during the last 18 months.
But his agent told Reuters that Crawford, who voluntarily gave his silver medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics to a rival competitor he felt had been wronged, had already announced his retirement from athletics after failing to make the US team for last year's London Olympics.
He crossed the line fourth in Beijing but was promoted to second after Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles and American Wallace Spearmon were disqualified for running out of their lanes.
Crawford later gave his silver medal to Martina, saying he believed he deserved it, although Martina lost an appeal to be officially reinstated.
