Athletics: Sotomayor cleared to jump for Cuba

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

The man who has leaped higher than any other, Cuban Javier Sotomayor, has been cleared to return to the Olympics after his drugs ban was sliced in half yesterday.

High jumper Sotomayor, the 1992 Olympic gold medallist, had been suspended from competition after testing positive for cocaine, the illegal substance New Zealand equestrian champion Mark Todd is accused of taking.

But yesterday he was allowed back into the Olympic arena, with his previous clean drug record and humanitarian work swaying the International Amateur Athletics Federation to cut his suspension.

Sotomayor, the only man to ever clear eight feet, should have been happy, but he wasn't. He wanted to be exonerated.

His was a high-powered case, with Cuban president Fidel Castro fighting his cause, claiming the urine sample had been tampered with.

The IAAF admitted there were exceptional circumstances which led to its decision.

One of them was the fact that over 15 years, Sotomayor had been drug-tested 300 times, all returning negative results.

Sydney will be Sotomayor's swansong, as it will be for another high-flying legend, Ukrainian pole vaulter Sergei Bubka.

Herald Online Olympics