This is really sad news. ESPN.com reported that Antonio Pettigrew a former Olympic sprinter was found dead today in the backseat of his locked car in Raleigh, North Carolina. It has not been determined if his death was a suicide or accident. The medical examiner has ordered an autopsy. Chatham County Sheriff’s Maj. Gary Blankenship said Pettigrew’s car was found parked to the side of a bridge. Blankenship said there was evidence that the 42-year-old Pettigrew had taken sleeping pills and there was no sign of foul play.
Pettigrew was an assistant track coach at University of North Carolina and the search began for Pettigrew when he did not come home. Friends found Pettigrew’s car while retracing the route from UNC to his home. Pettigrew is survived by his wife, Cassandra, and a son, Antonio Pettigrew Jr.
Pettigrew won Olympic Gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the 1,600 meter relay. Pettigrew and his teammates were later stripped of that gold for doping. During the investigation of former coach Trevor Graham, Pettigrew admitted to using performance enhancing drugs. Pettigrew was quoted as saying his actions were “100 percent wrong.”
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