Johnson returned Sydney Games relay medal: IOC

BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. Olympic champion Michael Johnson has returned his 4x400m Sydney 2000 Olympics gold medal to the International Olympic Committee after his then team mate Antonio Pettigrew admitted to doping, the IOC said on Tuesday.

Johnson, who has won four other Olympic golds, had said he would return it after Pettigrew's court testimony in May.

"He sent a letter with a very good, very fair and very strong statement that he considers this medal unfairly won and before the IOC takes a decision he handed the medal back to the IOC," IOC Vice President Thomas Bach told the IOC session.

The U.S. 4x400m relay team were stripped of their medals last week.

It was the sixth American medal from the Sydney Games lost to doping in the past eight months, after U.S. sprinter Marion Jones was stripped of her five medals due to her doping confession last year.

Former world 400 meters champion Pettigrew, now retired, admitted in May during the trial of former coach Trevor Graham that he had used performance-enhancing drugs for about six years.

The Sydney Games gold-winning relay team included Johnson, Pettigrew and twins Alvin and Calvin Harrison.

Pettigrew acknowledged using the prohibited blood booster erythropoietin (EPO) and human growth hormone (HGH) from around January 1997 until 2003.

"Two others of his team mates have indicated they would do so but we are not yet in the possession of their medals," Bach said, without naming who they were.

The reallocation of the relay medals will be decided in the coming weeks or months.

(Editing by Alex Richardson)