Editing Carl Lewis (section)

==Drug testing exoneration==
In 2003, Wade Exum, the [[United States Olympic Committee]]'s director of drug control administration from 1991 to 2000, gave copies of documents to ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' that revealed that some 100 American athletes had failed drug tests from 1988 to 2000, arguing that they should have been prevented from competing in the Olympics but were nevertheless cleared to compete. Before showing the documents to ''Sports Illustrated'', Exum tried to use them in a lawsuit against USOC, accusing the organization of racial discrimination and wrongful termination against him and cover-up over the failed tests. His case was summarily dismissed by the Denver federal Court for lack of evidence. The USOC claimed his case "baseless" as he himself was the one in charge of screening the anti-doping test program of the organization and clarifying that the athletes were cleared according to the rules.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-apr-23-sp-oly23-story.html|title=Just a Dash of Drugs in Lewis, DeLoach|work=Los Angeles Times|date=April 23, 2003|author=Abrahamson, Alan|access-date=October 10, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Anti-Doping Official Says U.S. Covered Up|work=The New York Times|date=April 17, 2003|page=S6}}</ref>

Lewis was among the named athletes and Exum's documents revealed that at the 1988 Olympics trials he had three positive results on a combined test for [[pseudoephedrine]], [[ephedrine]], and [[phenylpropanolamine]]. All were and are banned in sport due to their activity as [[stimulant]]s, though at the time all three were available [[Over-the-counter drug|over-the-counter]] as [[dietary supplement]]s or treatments for [[Cold medicine|cold]] and [[Allergy#Medication|allergy]] symptoms. The combined concentrations of these stimulants detected in the three successive tests were 2 [[Parts-per notation|ppm]], 4 ppm and 6 ppm.<ref name=":0"/>

Lewis defended himself, claiming that he had accidentally consumed the banned substances. After the supplements that he had taken were analyzed to prove his claims, the USOC accepted his claim of inadvertent use, since a dietary supplement he ingested was found to contain ''ma huang'', the Chinese name for ''[[Ephedra sinica]]'', an ephedrine-bearing plant which was then marketed as a [[Anti-obesity medication|weight loss aid]].<ref name=":0"/> Fellow Santa Monica Track Club teammates [[Joe DeLoach]] and [[Floyd Heard]] were also found to have the same banned stimulants in their systems, and were cleared to compete for the same reason.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Pete McEntegart|url=https://www.si.com/vault/2003/04/14/341393/scorecard|title=Scorecard|magazine=Sports Illustrated|date=April 14, 2003}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/carl-lewiss-positive-test-covered-up-20030418-gdgmdt.html|title=Carl Lewis's positive test covered up|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=April 18, 2003|access-date=October 9, 2019}}</ref>

The highest level of the stimulants Lewis recorded was 6 ppm, which was regarded as a positive test in 1988 but is now regarded as negative test. The acceptable level has been raised to ten parts per million for ephedrine and twenty-five parts per million for other substances.<ref name=":0"/><ref>Wallechinsky and Loucky, The Complete Book of the Olympics (2012 edition), page 61.</ref> According to the IOC rules at the time, positive tests with levels lower than 10 ppm were cause of further investigation but not immediate ban. Neal Benowitz, a professor of medicine at UC San Francisco who is an expert on ephedrine and other stimulants, agreed in 2003 that "These [levels] are what you'd see from someone taking cold or allergy medicines and are unlikely to have any effect on performance."<ref name=":0"/>

Following Exum's revelations the IAAF affirmed that at the 1988 Olympic Trials the USOC indeed followed the correct procedures in dealing with eight positive findings for ephedrine and ephedrine-related compounds in low concentration. The federation also reviewed in 1988 the relevant documents with the athletes' names undisclosed and stated that "the medical committee felt satisfied, however, on the basis of the information received that the cases had been properly concluded by the USOC as 'negative cases' in accordance with the rules and regulations in place at the time and no further action was taken".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://157.166.224.103/athletics/news/2003/04/30/iaaf_doping_ap/|title=IAAF: USOC followed rules over dope tests|date=April 30, 2003|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201150836/http://157.166.224.103/athletics/news/2003/04/30/iaaf_doping_ap/ |archive-date=February 1, 2014|df=mdy}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-may-01-sp-oly1-story.html |title=USOC's Actions on Lewis Justified by IAAF |work=Los Angeles Times |date=May 1, 2003 |last=Abrahamson |first=Alan}}</ref>

"Carl did nothing wrong. There was never intent. He was never told 'you violated the rules,{{'"}} said Martin D. Singer, Lewis's lawyer, who also said that Lewis had inadvertently taken the banned stimulants in an over-the-counter herbal remedy.<ref name="autogenerated5">{{cite journal|url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/tss/tss2618/stories/20030503002206000.htm|title=This idol has feet of clay, after all|date=May 3–9, 2003|journal=Sportstar|volume=26|issue=18|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070222090747/http://www.hinduonnet.com/tss/tss2618/stories/20030503002206000.htm|archive-date=February 22, 2007}}</ref> In an April 2003 interview, Lewis agreed that he tested positive three times in 1988 but he was let off as that was the normal practice in those times.<ref>{{cite news|author=Mackay, Duncan|date=April 24, 2003|title=Lewis: 'Who cares I failed drug test?'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2003/apr/24/athletics.duncanmackay|newspaper=[[The Guardian|theguardian.com]]|access-date=October 9, 2019}}</ref> "The only thing I can say is I think it's unfortunate what Wade Exum is trying to do", said Lewis. "I don't know what people are trying to make out of nothing because everyone was treated the same, so what are we talking about? I don't get it."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/2968931.stm|title=Lewis dismisses drugs claims|publisher=BBC News|date=April 23, 2003|access-date=October 9, 2019}}</ref>