Tracy Bonner’s Suspension Reduced
U.S. diver Tracy Bonner has won the first round of her fight to overturn her drug suspension. Bonner, 25, one of the top contenders for the 2000 Olympic team, was suspended in August for one year by FINA, after she tested positive at a meet for the stimulant dextroamphetamine. The substance is contained in a medication Bonner takes for narcolepsy, a disorder that causes overwhelming bouts of sleepiness. Bonner had been petitioning for the right to use the drug legally since she was diagnosed in 1996. FINA has accepted the recommendation of its medical commission that Bonner be allowed to use the drug, and reduced her suspension to six months. That clears the way for Bonner to compete in next June’s U.S. Olympic Trials. But she and U.S. Diving officials are appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland to try to get her suspension reduced enough so that she can compete in a key Olympic qualifying meet in Sydney next January.