By BOB BAUM
AP SPORTS WRITER
Olympic 200-meter gold medalist Shawn Crawford and former U.S. 100-meter champion Me’Lisa Barber have left coach Trevor Graham.
“There are a lot of things Trevor is focusing on, and that would obviously take him away from the focus on his athletes,” said agent Kim Holland, who represents Crawford and Barber, on Wednesday.
Graham, whose star athletes have included Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery and Justin Gatlin, was indicted last week on charges of lying to federal investigators (edit).
Specifics of the allegations and the proposed penalty have not been made public. A similar letter was sent to coach Remi Korchemny, his attorney George Walker confirmed Wednesday. Walker declined further comment, saying he had not seen the document.
It is the first time USADA has taken action against coaches. They have 10 days to respond to USADA’s allegation letter. The case then will be presented to a review panel that recommends whether sanctions should be levied.
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Graham operates Raleigh-based Sprint Capitol USA, a team of about 10 athletes.
Crawford, a training partner of Gatlin, is a three-time U.S. 200-meter champion who led a U.S. sweep of the event at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Crawford struggled with a foot injury in 2005 and was third in the 100 at the U.S. championships in June. He planned to work out for his father for the time being, Holland said.
Barber was a 400-meter runner before switching to Graham and concentrating on the shorter sprints. She won the U.S. 100-meter title in 2005 and was part of the gold medal 400-meter relay team at the 2005 world championships. She won the U.S. and world indoor 60-meter title in 2006.
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In the federal indictment, prosecutors said Graham lied to investigators in 2004 about his ties. He is scheduled for arraignment Nov. 16 in U.S. District Court and faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $750,000 fine if convicted.