Olympic 400 metres champion Michael Johnson could lose the gold medal he won as anchorman in the 4x400 relay squad at the 2000 Games if team mate Jerome Young is found to have committed a doping offence.

USA Track & Field (USATF) has consistently refused to say why Young was cleared to compete in Sydney after failing a dope test in 1999. The U.S. Olympic Committee threatened to disband the American governing body if it did not resolve the case by February 24.

If Young is found to have committed a doping offence which should have resulted in a two-year suspension the IOC would then have to decide whether to amend the Sydney results and take away the American 4x400 team's medals.

Young, who has denied committing any offence, ran in an early relay round in Sydney. He won the 400 metres gold medal at the world championships last August when a US newspaper revealed his 1999 positive test.

In the absence of any action from USATF, the sport's world ruling body (IAAF) is close to completing a case against Young which it will take to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

It will ask the court to rule that the American did commit a doping offence and should not have run in Sydney.

The USATF says that a ruling in January 2003 by the CAS prevents it from releasing documents about any doping cases from 1996 to 2000.

World anti-doping body (WADA) disagrees, saying the ruling prevented the USATF releasing the names of the athletes in these doping cases. Now that Young's name is in the public domain, it says the USATF should release his file.

NEGATIVE TEST

International athletics officials said Young had tested positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone but had been cleared because another test around the same time had been negative.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), keen that the case should not overshadow the run-up to the Athens Olympics in August, has also demanded the USATF take action.

A source close to the IAAF said the world governing athletics body was waiting for one more piece of evidence and would probably have a case assembled early next week.

"It's the last piece in the jigsaw," the source said.

WADA director general David Howman said Young should not have been cleared and added the case should have been referred to the IAAF.

"The reasoning in that appeal was fundamentally flawed," he said. "We are optimistically looking forward to a CAS hearing which will lead to an appropriate result."