NORFOLK, Va. — Former track star Tim Montgomery, once dubbed “the world’s fastest man,” pleaded guilty Thursday to distributing heroin, averting a trial set for next week.
He appeared briefly in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, answering “Yes, sir,” as District Judge Jerome B. Friedman asked if he understood his plea to federal charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of more than 100 grams of heroin.
The Olympic gold medalist and former 100-meter world-record holder was arrested in April and has been held without bond after a judge declared him a flight risk and a danger to the community. The jury trial he requested had been scheduled to start July 9.
Montgomery, 33, was sentenced in May to nearly four years in prison for his role in a New York-based check-kiting conspiracy.
He faces a minimum of five years in prison on the heroin charges at his sentencing, scheduled for Oct. 10. He also faces up to a $2 million fine and at least four years of supervised release.
Defense attorney James O. Broccoletti said outside court that Montgomery has had time to reflect since he was sentenced in the check-cashing scheme and decided to take responsibility for his actions.
“Tim is optimistic and he wants to proceed with life and get back on track,” Broccoletti said.
Audio and videotapes of Montgomery meeting four times with a confidential informant — dealing a total of 111 grams of heroin for $8,450 — also played a role in the plea, Broccoletti said.
“The videos that were distributed by the government were very clear in what his role and his actions were,” he said.
Montgomery was led into the courtroom in handcuffs, but he smiled and laughed with his attorney while signing the plea agreement.
But he has fallen fast since winning the gold in the 400-meter relay at the 2000 Olympics and the silver medal in the same event four years earlier. He also set a world record with his 9.78-second run in the 100-meter dash in 2002.
That record and all of Montgomery’s other performances were wiped from the books and he was banned from track for two years for doping linked to the investigation of BALCO, the lab at the center of a steroid scandal in sports. He never tested positive for drugs, but he retired in December 2005 after the ban was imposed.
He pleaded guilty in the New York case last year, admitting he helped his former coach, Olympic champion Steve Riddick, and others cash $1.7 million in stolen and counterfeit checks.
Riddick is serving a five-year prison term. Montgomery’s former companion, Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones, is serving a six-month prison sentence for lying to investigators about the check-fraud scam and using steroids.
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