Athletics: BAF appeals against Modahl

The British Athletic Federation has begun its second attempt to block a pounds 480,000 legal claim by Diane Modahl over a disputed drug test.

Last year, the High Court ruled against the BAF and allowed Modahl's case to go ahead, but the BAF went to the Court of Appeal yesterday to argue that the former Commonwealth 800m champion did not have a sustainable claim to seek the damages.

Modahl, who was at the hearing with her husband and coach, Vicente, is seeking to recover the pounds 480,000 she spent on legal and medical costs in challenging a four-year drug ban handed out by the BAF.

The ban was imposed after drug tests in Lisbon in 1994 purported to show a high level of testosterone in Modahl's body. But Modahl maintained the tests were flawed and the ban was later lifted by an appeal tribunal and the International Amateur Athletic Federation after doubts were cast over the accuracy of the results.

Modahl says the Lisbon laboratory which carried out the urine tests was not accredited by the International Olympic Committee or the IAAF, so that the BAF had no jurisdiction to discipline her.

Modahl is also seeking a similar figure in punitive damages over the way her case was handled by the BAF.

The 31-year-old is also challenging the High Court's ruling from a year ago which struck out her claim of bias on the part of the BAF disciplinary committee. The judges reserved judgement to a later date.

n The Swedish high-jumper Patrik Sjoberg is a doubtful starter for the World Championships in Athens later this summer after suffering an injury over the weekend. The three-time Olympic medallist pulled a muscle at a "Superstars" competition on Sunday, and was led off the field limping badly.