EXCLUSIVE: American Michael Picotte Reinstated Today After Serving Two-Year Drug Ban

By Phillip Whitten

LOS ANGELES, October 21. AMERICAN sprinter Michael Picotte, who was suspended from competition for 28 months after refusing a drug test, will be reinstated today, SwimInfo has learned.

Unfortunately for Picotte, 31, the terms of his reinstatement will not allow him to compete at the 2004 US Olympic Trials. By the time the 2008 Trials roll around, Picotte will be 35 and may be past his prime.

Picotte has best times of 50.5 seconds for 100 meters freestyle long course and 48.51 for 100 meters short course.

FINA and WADA rules require that a swimmer be available for drug-testing for a minimum of nine months before he or she can compete in major competitions. Picotte's nine-month tracking period will end July 21, 2004. The U.S. Olympic Trials will be held July 4-9, 2004.

Picotte said he plans to compete in Masters meets until he is eligible to swim in USA Swimming and international events.

The decision in reinstate Picotte was taken by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), with the agreement of USA Swimming and FINA. In July, under extreme pressure from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), FINA reduced the penalty for a first doping offense from four years to two. Since September 11, it has been considering reducing the penalty for swimmers found guilty of a doping offense before last July on a case-by-case basis.

Several swimmers have since had their bans reduced, the most famous being Costa Rican Olympic gold medalist Claudia Poll, who will be able to compete in Athens next year.

Picotte did not actually test positive for any performance-enhancing substance. Two years ago, he decided to retire from the sport but failed to complete all of the paperwork making his retirement official. When drug testers arrived at his doorstep unannounced, Picotte refused to be tested. Such refusals are considered the equivalent of testing positive.

A chastened Picotte told SwimInfo: "I was wrong in refusing the test two years ago and deserve the punishment I received. I believe rigorous drug-testing is essential if our sport is to remain clean."

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