At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Pettigrew threw his gold medal-winning Adidas spikes into the crowd after winning the 4 × 400 m final for the USA.[2]
Controversies
In 2008, prosecution documents related to the trial of coach Trevor Graham listed Pettigrew as one of Graham's athletes to have used performance-enhancing drugs.[3] Pettigrew then admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs and testified against Graham at his trial in May 2008.[4]
Although the IAAF rules currently do not retroactively alter results more than eight years after the event, Pettigrew voluntarily returned the medals he won in that period.[5][6] The 2000 Sydney Olympics 4 × 400 m U.S. relay team was stripped of their medals after Pettigrew admitted that he had used performance-enhancing drugs during that time.[7]
He received a two-year athletics ban in 2008, even though he had already retired from competitive track by then.[5]
Death
Pettigrew was found dead at age 42 in the back seat of his locked car in Chatham County, North Carolina, on August 10, 2010, and evidence of sleeping pills was found by police. On October 13, an autopsy report stated that he had died by suicide as a result of overdosing on a medication containing diphenhydramine.[8][9] Pettigrew was an assistant coach at the University of North Carolina at the time of his death.[10]
United States
