Graham passes polygraph test - but USOC keeps up site ban

Aug 9, 2006, 10:47 GMT

Los Angeles - Justin Gatlin's controversial coach Trevor Graham on Tuesday passed a lie detector test to underline his innocence in an effort to prove that he doesn't supply his athletes with doping substances, his lawyer said.

'He passed the test. That makes it clear that he has nothing to do with supplying illegal substances,' said Graham's lawyer Joseph Zeszotarski.

But the US Olympic Committee was unimpressed and said it will not reverse a ban on Graham at all Olympic training sites which was requested after Graham got through the polygraph test in Raleigh, North Carolina.

'We see no reason to overturn our decision. Entry to the training sites is a privilege,' insisted USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel.

At least seven of Graham's athletes have been linked with doping. The latest was the 100 metres world and Olympic champion and co-world record holder Gatlin, who tested positive for the steroid testosterone on April 22 and faces a life ban as a second-time offender.