The THG/Modafinil Timeline
(a feature with ongoing updates)
(last updated April 2, 2004)
The ongoing THG/Modafinil scandal is not an easy mess to sort out. To answer some of the elemental questions in the story, please see our Fact From Fiction story, written on October 28. If there are minor factual differences between that story and this one, this one should be viewed as more correct (even if not perfect!).
In this piece, we attempt to give you the whole story as it has developed/continues to develop. There are many stories linked in our THG Crisis archives. For the deepest and best coverage of the saga from the beginning, reading the on-line archives of the San Francisco Chronicle is the best way to go.
In The BeginningDates/Years Unknown—Some chemist “invents” the steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), probably by tweaking an existing molecule, and someone distributes it to athletes looking for an edge. Because it's an unknown drug, this specific "designer steroid" is on nobody's banned list.
Dates/Years Unknown—Multiple athletes begin taking the stimulant Modafinil. A prescription drug touted to the general public as being beneficial in many ways, including treating narcolepsy and general mental alertness. It's also not on any specific banned list.
The Anonymous TipsterMay/June 2003—The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) receives an anonymous phone call from someone claiming to be a "high-profile coach" who has evidence of an undetectable steroid.
June 13—Dr. Donald Catlin’s drug-testing lab at UCLA receives a test tube, presumably sent by the anonymous tipster, who alleges the tube’s liquid contents is residue from a syringe used for sublingual administration of an undetectable steroid.
Over the course of some three months, Catlin and an eight-chemist crew will identify THG (C21H28O2) as being similar to two known steroids, Gestrinone and Trenbolone, and then develop a test for finding it in urine samples. A long and intriguing story on this nifty bit of detective work is later chronicled by the New York Times.
Testing BeginsLate July—The IAAF is informed by USADA of the THG tip and orders testing of athletes named by the anonymous tipster.
August 1—British sprinter Dwain Chambers provides an out-of-competition urine sample.
August 30—L’Équipe, the French sports daily, reports that an A-sample test from 6 days earlier has detected Modafinil in world 100 champion Kelli White’s urine. The IAAF confirms the report, but—faced with a new substance—says she is free to continue competing. One question the IAAF must decide is whether Modafinil is a "weak" stimulant, for which first-offense punishment is a public warning and nullification of results of the competition in question, or a "strong" stimulant, which could draw a 2-year suspension. Later that day, White pulls out of the final of the 4 x 100 relay so as not to run the risk of having her teammates lose medals.
White admits to having used Modafinil, saying a doctor prescribed it to her for a narcolepsy problem that runs in the family.
August 31—IAAF announces that White's sample after her 200 gold medal was negative.
THG Test Is Ready"September"—The UCLA lab says its protocol is refined enough to test for THG in human samples. Catlin is asked to test more than 500 samples: 350 retests from the USATF Championships in June, 100 U.S. out-of-competition tests, approximately 100 tests from U.S. athletes in other Olympic sports and an undisclosed number of tests from the IAAF.
September 3—Federal and local law enforcement officers raid the headquarters of Bay Area Laboratories Cooperative (BALCO), a Burlingame, California, nutritional testing and supplement company founded by Victor Conte. Conte for more than 15 years served as a nutritional advisor to both team-sport and track athletes. A Federal Grand Jury investigation, which will be held in San Francisco, is later announced.
The doctor who prescribed Modafinil for White, Brian Goldman, has had a relationship with BALCO.
September 9—The IAAF rejects White's explanation for her Modafinil positive and turns the case over to USADA for adjudication.
September 13—L’Equipe reports leaked information that American Chris Phillips showed up as a Modafinil positive in a test after the World Championships 110 hurdles final, in which Phillips placed 5th.
September 23—UCLA lab informs the IAAF of an A-sample found positive for THG, later revealed to be in the sample taken in early August from Chambers, a BALCO client.
October 9—The IAAF announces that White and Phillips' B-sample tests from Paris have confirmed the presence of Modafinil.
USADA Drops A Bombshell,
Athlete Names Make The NewsOctober 16—USADA announces THG’s existence, revealing that an unstated number of athletes have tested positive and that retesting of the USATF samples has detected new Modafinil cases. It is clarified that even though THG was not named by name on any banned list, the "similar substances" rule will apply in making it prohibited.
Madden claims USADA’s tipster named BALCO as the source of the THG. Conte denies it.
October 17—The year's farthest shot putter, Kevin Toth, is named by the Washington Post as being among USATF's THG positives.
October 21—The IAAF says it will retest all samples from the World Champs (some 400 in all), looking for THG.
October 22—USATF head Craig Masback confirms that four U.S. athletes have turned up A-sample positives for THG after national-championship retesting. He says three of the four went on to compete in the WC, but none won medals.
International sources claim Chambers has also tested positive for THG. Chambers’ lawyer confirms it but says his client thought he was taking legal supplements.
October 23—The Post points the finger at world indoor 1500 champion Regina Jacobs as one of five athletes who have tested positive for THG. As with Toth, there is no official confirmation. Jacobs’ lawyer, Ed Williams, tells the New York Times, “She has never knowingly taken any banned substance.”
The Chicago Tribune reports that hammer thrower John McEwen, a sometime training mate of Toth's, is one of the THG positives.
A bill is introduced in the U.S. Senate that would make THG a controlled substance.
October 26–27—The Associated Press reports that Calvin Harrison had an A-sample positive for Modafinil in the USATF meet retests. Harrison admits it, saying he got the drug from San Francisco area coach Remi Korchemny, but didn’t think it was illegal.
If found guilty, Harrison could face a 2-year suspension as a second-time offender (he also tested positive for a stimulant in ’95), which could nullify the U.S. gold in the 4x4 from Paris.
October 28—The FDA brands THG an unapproved drug, and not a food supplement, adding, "As such, it cannot be legally marketed without FDA approval under the agency's rigorous approval standards that are meant to ensure that drugs that are sold to American consumers are safe and effective.
"FDA is concerned about the marketing and use of this unapproved product and is working with other Federal law enforcement agencies to aggressively engage, enforce, and prosecute those firms or individuals who manufacture, distribute, or market THG…
"In the meantime, FDA is warning consumers that while little is formally known about the safety of this drug, its structure and relationship to better known products leads FDA to believe that its use may pose considerable risks to health.
"Although purveyors of THG may represent it as a dietary supplement, in fact it does not meet the dietary supplement definition. Rather, it is a purely synthetic 'designer' steroid derived by simple chemical modification, from another anabolic steroid that is explicitly banned by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency."
The Los Angeles Times reports sprinter Chryste Gaines and hurdlers Eric Thomas and Sandra Glover were found positive for Modafinil in USATF meet retesting. Gaines denies being notified of such a result.
Korchemny, who is White’s coach, tells the Post he gave Phillips some Modafinil during the World Championships because the hurdler had trouble sleeping. He denies giving the drug to any of the others.
White’s agent, Robert Wagner, claims athletes use Modafinil—which will not be formally added to the banned list until ’04—to deal with jet lag.
Athletes Face Grand JuryOctober 30—The Grand Jury in San Francisco begins hearing from athletes in multiple sports, Toth and Jacobs among them. Jacobs' lawyer, Douglas Schwartz, says, "Ms. Jacobs did appear before the Grand Jury; she's done absolutely nothing wrong and she hopes her testimony will be useful and helpful to the process."
November 6—Gaines and 100m World Record holder Tim Montgomery testify before the Grand Jury. Like Toth and Jacobs, they have no public comment.
A positive result for THG on Chambers’ B-sample test is announced. UK Athletics provisionally suspends the sprinter, but he's eligible for a hearing before he is officially set down.
November 7—The San Francisco Chronicle reports that its sources say that some of the athletes are being given "limited immunity" relative to their testimony.
November 10—The IAAF suggests that athletes who are THG-positive might be able to get less than a 2-year ban if they can contribute to proving involvement of others in a "doping conspiracy."
General-Secretary István Gyulai says that "exceptional circumstances" are required for a reduction in sentence and that over the last four years 18 athletes had made such a request but 16 were rejected.
"We are not like a public prosecutor offering a plea bargain," says Gyulai. "We don't' do bargains. We just want a clean sport."
Retesting of World Championships samples for THG begins in the Olympic doping-control lab in Chatenay-Malabray, France.
November 12—The IAAF announces being informed of positive B-sample THG tests on four Americans but says it does not know their names because USADA withholds them until after an internal review panel approves taking action.
Baseball & Football Enter The PictureNovember 13—Major League Baseball announces that 5–7% of information-only steroid tests it conducted this year were positive, triggering punitive testing next season.
The penalties announced amount to less than slaps on the wrist. MLB commissioner Bud Selig says, unbelievably, "I am pleased the results of the survey testing show that there is not widespread steroid use in baseball." (The steroid-positive rate at the USATF Championships was a shade over 1%.)
Superstar Marion Jones testifies before the Grand Jury, as does an "unidentified female track athlete." Jones tells the Chronicle, "I can't make any comment, you guys. I would if I could, but I can't."
November 16—Media sources report positive THG tests for four Oakland Raiders football players.
November 20—Harrison and twin brother Alvin Harrison testify before the Grand Jury, as does an unidentified male trackster. None give public comment.
Gyulai tells the AP that World Champs retests are showing minimal positive tests. "These are excellent results for the IAAF," he says. "The number is very, very, very low. There is nothing extraordinary so far." Testing of the 400-odd samples is expected to be completed within a week.
November 21—An "anonymous track official" tells the AP that 360 World Champs retests have been completed and there has only been a single THG positive. That person is said to be one of the people who previously tested positive, meaning that it has to be either Dwain Chambers or one of the Americans.
Pro football's powerful union wins a major battle. Although THG use will be punished in the future, the retesting which turned up the Oakland Raider positives is deemed unfair since it was a "changing of the rules" so the four won't serve any kind of suspension this season.
USA Today reports that Kevin Toth’s lawyer, Howard Jacobs, is alleging an irregularity in testing of the putter’s B sample for THG. “They did test the B sample twice and have provided no explanation as to why they did that,” Jacobs says. “It’s certainly unusual.” Jacobs states that if the first B-sample test was negative, Toth should be exonerated, but USADA tester Dr. Donald Catlin defends the test, saying, “Everything we do is validated.”
November 23—The IAAF announces that retesting of all 402 samples from the World Champs is complete, and that there were only two THG positives. No identification of athletes or nations is released.
London's Observer says that sprinter Dwain Chambers is one of the two, but that the IAAF has said that given the "new" nature of THG, his two positive tests a few weeks apart will only count as a single doping offense, sparing him a life-ban. The paper also says it has been told that the other Paris positive is somebody who has previously been named as a THG offender, not a new name.
November 27—The San Jose Mercury News confirms that swimming star Amy Van Dyken (the one earlier tagged as "unidentified female track & field athlete"?) testified before the Grand Jury on November 13, adding swimming to the mix of sports involved in the BALCO hearings. Early December—Germany’s National Anti-Doping Agency announces that all samples taken from German athletes in an unspecified period have been tested for THG and all turned up negative.
USATF Votes For Lifetime BansDecember 4—USATF’s Board of Directors votes unanimously at the federation’s Annual Meeting to support a bylaw change that would levy lifetime bans against first-time steroid offenders. December 5—USATF’s Athlete’s Advisory Committee votes unanimously in favor of lifetime steroid bans. A Reuters story reveals that Audrey Conte, the ex-wife of Victor Conte, has been charged with possessing drugs for sale. Court records only describe three broad categories of drugs: “stimulants, depressants and anabolic steroids.” Prosecution was suspended after a judge committed Audrey Conte to a mental hospital “until the defendant becomes competent.” December 6—USATF passes a resolution to implement lifetime steroid suspensions, provided such a rule change will not run afoul of provisions of the Amateur Sports Act. December 7—High-profile coaches John Smith and Trevor Graham—both of whom have guided World Record setters and Olympic gold medalists—are reported by the San Francisco Chronicle to have denied being the "mystery coach" who supplied the original syringe to USADA in the THG scandal. “It wasn’t me,” Smith says. “I don’t hide. We’re [his HSI club] very proud people. We don’t hide. I didn’t do it.” Graham declines to speak on record. December 12—Raider football players Barret Robbins and Bill Romanowski, baseball players Jason and Jeremy Giambi and Gary Sheffield, and boxer Shane Mosley are among the athletes to testify before the Grand Jury in a particularly long day of questioning. Local papers say it may mark the end of the athlete hearings. December 17—Reuters reports that Robert Brucker, a biochemist who is a director of BALCO, has been targeted by investigators as the only one at the company with the wherewithal to have created THG. Brucker refuses comment. USADA Makes Positives OfficialDecember 30—USADA announces that "sufficient evidence of doping exists to proceed further" in six drug cases: Chryste Gaines, Sandra Glover and Eric Thomas for Modafinil at the ’03 USATF Championships, John McEwen for THG at USATF, Chris Phillips for Modafinil at the World Championships and Kelli White for Modafinil at USATF and the Worlds. All six are reported to be challenging the results.
December 31—White's agent, Robert Wagner, tells the Associated Press he wants the sprinter's drug cases adjudicated quickly or "we have to find a court because it's hurting us, financially, reputation-wise, everything… We tried to follow the rules. Can we get a position from someone so we can move forward?"
January 13—The USOC confirms that USATF hammer champion Melissa Price tested positive for THG at the Nationals. "I have never met Victor Conte or even heard of him," Price says in a written statement. "I therefore have no idea how or why I tested positive, as I understand that USADA believes that THG came from Victor Conte and BALCO."
USADA confirms the positive ephedrine test for sprinter Mickey Grimes from the Pan-Am Games in August. Grimes will thus lose the 100m gold and the U.S. 4x1 on which he ran is also stripped of the title.
January 16—USADA announces positives from the ’03 USATF Championships for Regina Jacobs (THG) and Calvin Harrison (Modafinil), noting that both athletes are disputing the cases. This means that three--Jacobs, Price, McEwen--of four Americans who have tested positive for THG have been officially named. Putter Kevin Toth has still not been charged, but his lawyer (see November 21) has charged irregularities in his testing, in effect admitting he is the fourth.
January 21—The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Jacobs will not be invited to a February 14 youth track clinic at Logan High School in Union City, California, because the school's coach doesn't want her THG notoriety "to be the focus of the whole thing."
Remi Korchemny, a volunteer coach at the school who has been linked to several of the Modafinil cases, will not appear at the clinic. Korchemny tells the Chronicle that Gaines has been barred from entering the Millrose Games by meet director Skip Stolley because of her positive test and BALCO connections (but the meet does invite Marion Jones, who also appeared before the Grand Jury).
January 22—The Chronicle reports that Jacobs will be invited to the Logan clinic after all.
The Grand Jury reconvenes and Jacobs' husband/coach, Tom Craig, testifies for several hours. “It went well; it was fairly short. I can’t go into details,” Craig tells reporters. Jacobs does not testify, but tells reporters, "I was just getting sandwiches and coffee."
January 23—The San Jose Mercury News reports that Gaines's lawyer, Cameron Myler (a 4-time Olympian in luge), has filed a complaint with the USOC alleging that USATF has an obligation to protect its member athletes' rights to enter meets such as the Millrose Games.
January 24—The Chronicle reports that the USOC is "reviewing the situation." Myler says that if the case isn't resolved in a couple of days she will take it to the American Arbitration Association.
January 30-The British newspaper The Guardian reports that WADA science director Dr. Olivier Rabin has charged that the long-term health risks of taking an untested designer steroid such as THG are enormous. The paper also reports WADA plans to challenge the IAAF if the track federation does not ban Kelli White for two years for her two Modafinil positives in ’03. WADA announces that henceforth Modafinil positives will result in 2-year bans. USATF removes Remi Korchemny from its team staff for the ’04 World Indoor Championships, citing his admissions he supplied athletes with the stimulant Modafinil. February 3-Marion Jones denies ever having used THG or any other BALCO products despite having been questioned by the grand jury about the case. February 12-Greg Anderson, Victor Conte, Korchemny and James Valente are charged by a federal grand jury with illegally distributing performance-enhancing drugs to athletes, money laundering and conspiracy. They plead innocent the next day and bail is set, although all four are released to arrange bail. USADA says it will pursue doping suspensions of anyone implicated in the cases. The IAAF later seconds this intention. February 14-Neither Jacobs nor Korchemny appear at the Logan clinic. February 16-The USOC identifies shot putter Kevin Toth as the fourth U.S. athlete to test positive for THG at the ’03 USATF Championships (and in a later out-of-competition test). Toth immediately announces his retirement. February 17-Ed Williams, attorney to Regina Jacobs in the matter of her THG doping positive, says he has asked a New York federal court to order USADA to change the way it selects arbitrators for doping panels. Williams alleges many arbitrators under the current system have conflicts of interest connecting them to drug testers. The San Jose Mercury News claims 9 athletes, 4 more than previously reported, tested positive for THG in ’03. Court documents are unsealed making public a claim by an IRS investigator that Conte, Valente and Anderson all admitted to distributing steroids to athletes. February 19-Troy Ellerman, a defense lawyer for Conte and Valente, denies to the Contra Costa Times that his clients confessed to any crimes. Ellerman also claims vials of HGH and testosterone investigators found in the BALCO trash are consistent with the company's legitimate business as a testing company, but a former employee disputes this claim. February 23-As Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield and other BALCO-connected baseball players report to spring training, they face a barrage of questions about doping. February 24-UK Athletics finds Dwain Chambers guilty of doping with THG and suspends him for 2 years. The San Jose Mercury News reports that Doug Schwartz, lawyer to Regina Jacobs' husband/coach Tom Craig, and an unnamed athlete have revealed they were asked questions about coach Trevor Graham during grand jury testimony. The report further alleges that "a person close to the investigation" said that a letter found in BALCO's trash by investigators accused Graham of supplying athletes with a steroid from Mexico. February 27-29-Korchemny attends the USATF Indoor Championships. March-No action on the track & field front, but major league baseball goes through much soul-searching and angst. But still doesn’t do anything substantive, as the powerful players’ union still has the whip hand. April 1-The San Francisco Chronicle reports that while Korchemny isn’t allowed to coach at schools anymore, he continues to train some of his athletes at places like public parks, trails and beaches.
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