Sotomayor drug ban cut for Olympics

A leading Cuban athlete -- the high jumper, Javier Sotomayor -- has been told he can compete in the Sydney Olympics, after having a drugs ban reduced.

He'd been banned for two years after testing positive for cocaine last year.

But the International Amateur Athletic Federation has reduced this to one year, making him eligible for the Games.

It cited exceptional circumstances, such as his having passed all his previous drugs tests and the fact that Sydney would be his last Olympics. In a BBC interview, the deputy Cuban sports minister, Alberto Juantorena, said it was the correct decision and reaffirmed the government's view that Sotomayor was innocent.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service