Slaney Fights Back

Mary Slaney has begun her fight to invalidate the drug test that led to her suspension by filing a complaint contending that the procedure is flawed and discriminates against women.

Slaney filed the action with the U.S. Olympic Committee, which in turn told USA Track & Field, the sport’s national governing body, to respond by Friday.

Slaney is focusing on the merits of the case against her and is avoiding a showdown over the International Amateur Athletic Federation decision to suspend her and two other U.S. athletes pending the outcome of their cases.

“That’s not a matter between Mary and the IAAF,” her attorney, Jim Coleman, said Tuesday. “That’s between USA Track & Field and the IAAF. Basically, the IAAF has intervened into something it should not have.”

Sandra Farmer-Patrick, one of two other athletes suspended along with Slaney, said Tuesday she never used performance-enhancing drugs and that a year of fighting doping charges has drained her finances and created “so much stress” in her family.