Athletics: Antonio Pettigrew found dead

Former 400m world champion Antonio Pettigrew has been found dead on Tuesday as authorities couldn’t pronounce yet if the athlete killed himself or suffered a terrible accident. The 42-year-old American worked as assistant athletics coach at the North Carolina University over the last four years. University’s director Dick Baddour has declared the news impressed everyone at the school: “Although we are still learning the circumstances, we are deeply saddened to learn of Antonio’s death. I was particularly impressed with the relationships he established with his student-athletes and the pride he took in representing the university.”

World champion in 1991, Pettwigrewhas been stripped of an Olympic gold medal due to a positive doping test he admitted though. The athlete was found breathless by few of his friends in the back seat of his own car in Chatam County, central part of North Carolina State. “Chatham deputies and (emergency management services) arrived and found Pettigrew was deceased with no apparent trauma,” Chantam officials declared in the statement. Although there are no indications concerning his death as the autopsy too hasn’t been completed yet, Pettigrew is suspected to have taken a sleep aid, according to the officials. Athlete’s contribution to the US athletics team brought one golden medal at the 2000 Olympic Games and other three world titles in the 4x400m relay, but was taken back from the Olympic gold and two world relay medals after assuming performance-enhancing substances use.

The US government has also honoured Pettigrew for humanitarian work in 2000 after many charity actions. 2004 Olympic coach, George Williams (also Pettigrew’s coach at Raleigh Saint Augustine College) declared about athlete’s death that he won’t be remembered just by his remarkable performances, but also for the lives his worked had a real impact: “He will not only be remembered for his accomplishments on the track but for the thousands of lives his success impacted. He was a role model and mentor who will be sorely missed.”