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BEIJING -- The International Olympic Committee lauded Michael Johnson for voluntarily returning his gold medal in the 4x400-meter relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympics following the admission of doping by U.S. teammate Antonio Pettigrew.
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The IOC formally stripped the entire team of their medals on Saturday because Pettigrew testified during the trial of his former coach in May that he was using performance-enhancing drugs at the time of the Sydney Games.
Johnson, who anchored the relay team in Sydney for the fifth and final gold of his Olympic career, had already returned the medal after Pettigrew's confession.
IOC vice president Thomas Bach, head of the committee's legal commission, said Johnson also sent a "very fair and very strong statement that he constitutes this medal as being unfairly won."
"This is a rally good expression of fair play," Bach said. "We appreciate this very much."
Pettigrew has also returned his medal. The other squad members were twins Alvin and Calvin Harrison, Jerome Young and Angelo Taylor.
