ANKARA - Turkish athlete Sureyya Ayhan has had her two-year drugs ban imposed before the Athens Olympics cut to one year, her coach Yucel Kop reported on Monday.
The European 1500m champion was hit with the suspension in February in connection with an incident last July which was followed by Ayhan's surprise last minute pull-out from the Athens Olympics.
According to press reports here at the time, a dispute arose when the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) requested urine samples from Ayhan.
Kop, who is also her husband, admitted that a row had broken out between him and a WADA inspector who had insisted on accompanying Ayhan to the toilets to take the sample.
Kop, reacting to Monday's reduction of the ban, said: "The disciplinary commission for Youth and Sport has shown a little more thoughtfulness and reduced Sureyya's suspension to a year.
"But we're now waiting on another decision, which strikes off the entire ban. We're not guilty, there's not a single bit of proof."
Ayhan became something of a national heroine when she burst into the spotlight when taking the European 1500m women's title in Munich three years ago, before adding silver at the World Championships in Paris in 2003.
03/14/2005 17:11 GMT