Athletics: Nebiolo's rebuff for Reynolds

A FEDERAL judge in Columbus, Ohio, may have reaffirmed a dollars 27.3m (pounds 18.2m) award for Butch Reynolds but the president of the International Amateur Athletic Federation has made it clear that the athlete will not collect a penny.

Primo Nebiolo, who is in Buffalo for the World Student Games, said American courts have no jurisdiction over the federation and Reynolds would receive no compensation. 'Never, never . . . even if he lives 200 years,' Nebiolo said.

The IAAF issued a 28-month ban against Reynolds, the world 400m record holder, after he allegedly failed a drug test in 1990. The athlete claimed the IAAF laboratory erred in the tests.

The IAAF declined to represent itself in the civil suit brought before US District Judge, Joseph Kinneary, last winter saying that the court had no jurisdiction over its actions. Kinneary first ruled that the IAAF should pay the damages and penalties last December. The next step for the IAAF will be an appeal to the 6th US Circuit Court in Cincinnati.