Eugene therapist denies link to doping.

Byline: Ron Bellamy The Register-Guard

A Eugene massage therapist suddenly enmeshed in an international story - the failed drug test of U.S. sprinter Justin Gatlin - denied Tuesday night that he rubbed testosterone cream into the Olympic and World champion.

On Sunday, Trevor Graham, who is Gatlin's coach, told The Washington Post that he believed that Gatlin unwittingly had testosterone cream massaged into his legs at the Kansas Relays in April by a masseur who held a grudge against him, thus triggering the positive test.

Graham didn't name the therapist in the Post story, but Tuesday evening, USA Today posted a story on its Web site identifying the therapist as Chris Whetstine of Eugene, who works under contract with Nike.

"Trevor Graham is not speaking on behalf of Justin Gatlin, and the statement about me is not true," Whetstine said, in a statement released through his attorney, Elizabeth Baker.

"I have fully cooperated with the investigation into this matter."

Both Whetstine and Baker had declined to comment Monday when contacted by The Register-Guard and other news organizations. On Tuesday, with Whetstine's name made public by USA Today, Baker said her client "vehemently" denies Graham's allegation.

Baker said Whetstine denies ever administering testosterone to Gatlin or any other athlete, with or without their knowledge.

The son of former Eugene mayoral candidate James "Izzy" Whetstine, Chris Whetstine is a licensed massage therapist who has treated athletes such as sprint star Marion Jones and golfer Ben Crane. He has been in charge of massage therapy at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene since the late 1990s.

Gatlin's attorney, Cameron Myler of New York, has distanced the sprinter from Graham's accusation.

"Trevor's comments didn't come from us, and we didn't know of them until we read them in the press," Myler told USA Today. "At this point we are still actively investigating the cause of Justin's positive test and we're not prepared to point fingers at anyone."

In a column in the London Daily Telegraph, former Olympic champion Michael Johnson wrote that Graham's scenario was "a new twist on an old excuse and Graham has no credibility." A spokesman for the International Association of Athletics Federation said the IAAF is giving little credence to Graham's claim.

Gatlin, who raced to a share of the world record in the 100 meters earlier this year, faces a lifetime ban from the sport of track and field if his positive test is upheld. It would be a bitter blow for the sport, because Gatlin, 24, is one of its top young stars and has vigorously portrayed himself as anti-doping.

Doping experts say it's theoretically possible for a single application of testosterone cream to trigger a positive test. Gatlin has said he did not knowingly use any banned substance.

Graham, who also may face sanctions, has coached at least six prominent athletes who have received penalties for doping violations. However, he also has been identified as the coach who sent a syringe to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency containing the designer steroid THG, previously undetectable, triggering the BALCO investigation.

"The only person here who is having serious questions about his credibility is Trevor Graham," Baker said.

In statements to reporters from other organizations, Graham has suggested that Whetstine held a grudge against Gatlin because he wrongly thought that Gatlin, rather than Graham, had previously fired him.

Baker said Whetstine has no grudge against Gatlin or Graham, and that he's assigned to athletes by Nike. She said Graham would have had no power to "fire" Whetstine in the first place.

The alleged incident took place April 22. Whetstine was subsequently with Gatlin when he tied the world record in Doha, Qatar, in May and worked on him at the Pre Classic in Eugene later that month.

Gatlin won the 100 meters at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Indianapolis in June.