Washington Finally to Get 2003 World 400m Gold

Athletics officials confirmed he would be recognized and an announcement will be made on Monday, USATF spokeswoman Jill Geer said.

American Tyree Washington is finally going to get the 2003 world 400 metres gold medal draped around his neck, the retired sprinter told Reuters on Sunday.

USA Track & Field (USATF) will present Washington with the newly cast medal at this week's U.S. championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Athletics officials confirmed he would be recognized and an announcement will be made on Monday, USATF spokeswoman Jill Geer said.

Washington, now 32, said he had mixed emotions about the presentation, which is scheduled for Saturday after the men's 400 metres final.

"Getting the medal will be part of my peace, but it is not going to be all of my peace," said the Californian who began pursuing the gold after 2003 winner Jerome Young admitted in 2008 to using prohibited substances and agreed to return the medal.

"I have been treated poorly," said Washington, the 2003 runner-up. "The IAAF gave Jerome Young a lifetime ban (for a doping positive in 2004) ... so they knew I was going to be the world champion yet they held on to that (the gold)."

Young received a lifetime ban after a 2004 positive test for the banned blood booster Erythropoietn (EPO), his second doping offense, but he was not stripped of all results subsequent to 1999 until 2008.

Washington, though, has been recognized in International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) publications as the 2003 outdoor champion since 2005.

"I was their role model," said Washington, the 2003 world indoor champion. "But when I wanted to get help (in procuring the medal) from my federation, USATF, and the IAAF, they turned their backs."

RECORD HOLDER

Many thought the headband-wearing Washington would be world record holder Michael Johnson's successor before injuries slowed his career. He retired in 2008.

Washington said he was upset the presentation would be in the U.S. and not at the IAAF world championships in Berlin in August.

"That is not where I won the world championship," he said. "If they are going to give me my medal ....why isn't the IAAF sending me to Berlin?"

Washington also said he was owed the $30,000 first-prize money from the 2003 championships, adding he had proof Young was not paid.

IAAF spokesman Nick Davies disagreed.

"The IAAF has different information -- namely that Jerome Young was indeed paid and has not repaid us," Davies told Reuters in an e-mail.

"We are delighted for Tyree Washington and it shows that, however long the delay, the rightful champion can now be honoured properly," Davies said, adding that the IAAF preferred to promote the success of a clean athlete in his own country, rather "than to promote the consequences of doping on a world stage in front of billions of TV viewers."