Sprinter indicted on drugs charge

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The disgraced sprinter Tim Montgomery has been indicted on charges of distributing heroin, the US newspaper Virginian-Pilot has reported.

The former athlete is accused of dealing more than 100 grams of the drug in the state of Virginia in the past year, said the newspaper.

Montgomery is being held at Portsmouth city jail, according to a spokesman for the sheriff's office, Karin Johnson.

The runner told the newspaper his arrest was a "total surprise".

He added that he knew nothing of the accusations.

Stolen cheques

Montgomery is already facing sentencing next month in a case of cheque-fraud conspiracy.

He has admitted helping his former coach, Steve Riddick, and others cash $1.7m (£850,000) worth of stolen and counterfeit cheques.

Riddick is currently serving a five-year sentence in prison, and Montgomery could face 46 months in jail himself over that case.

Montgomery's former partner, the former sprinter Marion Jones, is also serving a jail sentence, in her case for perjury.

Montgomery was banned from athletics for two years in December 2005 for doping, and he then retired from the sport.

He had broken the world record for the 100m in September 2002 with a run of 9.78 seconds - but this performance, and all others after March 2001, were wiped from the record books.

The sprinter also won a relay gold medal at the 2000 Olympics, and a silver medal in the relay at the 1996 Olympics.