<div><p>RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) - The United States could lose another Olympic relay gold medal because of a doping suspension handed down to the 2004 women's 4x400 meters relay alternate Crystal Cox on Friday.</p><p>Cox was suspended for four years and all her competitive results since 2001 were disqualified because she used banned anabolic agents and hormones between 2001 and 2004, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said in a statement.</p><p>Traditionally, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has stripped national relay teams of medals when a team member, including alternates, has been suspended for or admitted to doping.</p><p>Cox ran in the preliminary round of the 2004 Athens Games women's 4x400 relay where the American team of Monique Henderson, Monique Hennagan, Sanya Richards and Deedee Trotter won gold.</p><p>Russia took silver and Jamaica bronze.</p><p>USA Track & Field (USATF) spokeswoman Jill Geer said the U.S. governing body was aware of Cox's suspension.</p><p>"Ultimately the determination of what to do with the medals will be in the hands of the IOC, and we defer to them," Geer said in a telephone interview from New York.</p><p>The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) did not have immediate comment.</p><p>If the United States were to be stripped of the Athens gold because of Cox's suspension, it would be the fourth Olympic relay medal an American team has lost because of doping since 2000.</p><p>PAST STRIPPINGS</p><p>The IOC stripped the 2000 Olympics U.S. women's 4x100 bronze medalists and 4x400 gold medal winners because of doping admissions by sprinter Marion Jones.</p><p>Her team mates have appealed the decision.</p><p>The IOC also took the 2000 Sydney Games gold medals of the U.S. men's 4x400 relay team that included Michael Johnson because of doping violations by Jerome Young and Antonio Pettigrew.</p><p>Cox's acceptance of her four-year sanction resulted from information recently received by USADA during separate investigations into the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO) doping scandal of the early 2000s, USADA said in its statement.</p><p>"Ms. Cox clearly competed under the pressures of her sport that accompanied one of the worst doping chapters in history and unfortunately gave in to the temptation to use performance-enhancing drugs," USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart said in a statement.</p><p>"However, to her credit, when confronted by USADA with evidence of her violation of sports anti-doping rules Ms. Cox promptly admitted her involvement in doping and accepted responsibility."</p><p>(Editing by John O'Brien)</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=68068970&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

Copyright 2010  <a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance">Reuters US Online Report Sports News</a></div></div>