Joyner hopes autopsy ends frenzy on Flo-Jo

Florence Griffith Joyner should be allowed to rest in peace after an autopsy established her death had nothing to do with performance-enhancing drugs, her husband Al Joyner said yesterday.

Fighting back tears, the 1984 Olympic triple-jump champion said: "Now the results are in, my wife took the final, ultimate drug test and it's what we always said - there's nothing there. So please, please, give us time to grieve and just let my wife rest in peace."

The coroner investigating the death of the 38-year-old world record-holder for the 100 metres and 200 said she died at her home in Mission Viejo, California on September 21st of suffocation in her sleep after an epileptic fit.

Officials in Orange County said Griffith Joyner had a congenital brain abnormality known as cavernous angioma, a condition which allows blood to accumulate outside normal blood vessels in the brain or spinal tissue. "The abnormality has never been associated with steroids or any other drugs," said Dr Richard Fukumoto, the chief forensic officer.

There had been speculation about heart problems, as many believed she had used drugs, such as anabolic steroids or human growth hormone, before 1988, when she won Olympic gold medals in the 100, 200 and 4 x 100.

Darrell Robinson, one of the United States' top 400 runners of the 1980s, claimed in 1989 that Griffith Joyner had brought human growth hormone from him to help her prepare for the 1988 season. Robinson alleged that Griffith Joyner gave him $2,000 (£1,200) for a 10cc vial of HGH. Griffith Joyner always denied the allegations but refused to take legal action against Robinson.

When her death was announced some contemporary athletes joined the media in publicly pointing the finger of suspicion at Griffith-Joyner's remarkable times.

The continued focus on allegations that she took illegal performance-enhancing drugs prompted Griffith Joyner's brother-in-law and longtime coach Bob Kersee to lash out at "poison pens" in the media at her funeral last month.

"She stopped by here to tell you that all those jealous, venemous words can't harm me no more," he said. "Those tarnishing, backbiting poisonous lies of unsensitive reporters can't hurt her no more."

The president of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, Primo Nebiolo, also called on the media to show more restraint. "Her family have had to endure irresponsible reports that have sought to tarnish her reputation - without any real proof," he said.

"These campaigns of misinformation serve not only to damage individual athletes and our sport as a whole, but also have a negative impact on the multi-million dollar anti-doping campaign to which the IAAF has been committed for many years.

"I hope that, like the IAAF family, they (the media) will now send a message of love and sympathy to the bereaved relatives who have lost so much.

"This report ensures that Florence Griffith Joyner will be able to rest in peace," said Nebiolo, the most powerful official in world athletics, in a statement.