| | Associated Press
HAVANA -- Javier Sotomayor cleared 7-foot-6½ during an
exhibition in Cuba, determined to stay in shape while he awaits a
ruling on his appeal of a drug suspension that has disqualified him
from the Sydney Olympics.
"Physically, I feel very good. I am in good form," the world
record-holder Sotomayor said of his weekend jumps at Havana's
Panamericano Stadium. He failed in three attempts at 7-8½.
The International Amateur Athletic Federation suspended
Sotomayor after he tested positive for cocaine at last summer's Pan
American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
An IAAF arbitration panel is studying Cuba's appeal and was
expected to rule Wednesday.
Sotomayor was stripped of his gold medal at the Pan Am Games but
has maintained his innocence. Cuban President Fidel Castro and the
country's track federation, which cleared Sotomayor, claim the
urine samples were manipulated.
If the appeal is rejected, the two-year suspension will stand,
which would rule him out of the Sydney Olympics.
The 1992 Olympic champion has been barred from competing pending
the appeal.
"I have continued training because I believe that justice will
arrive at any moment," Sotomayor said. | |
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