Kumari Shreya
Netflix’s ‘Untold: Hall of Shame’ is a sports documentary movie directed by Bryan Storkel that explores the infamous Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) doping scandal. Involving some of the greatest US athletes at the time, the case rocked the world of sports in the early 2000s, given the far-reaching consequences. One of the most notable people who was affiliated with the scandal is Timothy “Tim” Montgomery, a former track star.
Who is Tim Montgomery?
Tim Montgomery was born on January 28, 1975, in Gaffney, South Carolina, and was initially interested in basketball and football before finding his calling with track running. Originally a Blinn College student, he changed institutes to take advantage of the strong track program at Norfolk State University. Soon enough, he became a star 100-meter sprinter with hopes of representing the USA internationally.
Though Tim did not qualify for the 100 meters event at the 1996 Summer Olympics, he did get to participate as one of the runners in the 4 × 100-meter relay team, earning his first Olympic medal from the team finishing second. 1997 saw him participating in the World Championships and bagging a solo bronze medal. Around this time, Tim became highly motivated to be the world record holder as the fastest man alive, no matter the consequence.
When he joined forces with Victor Conte, the Founder of BALCO, Tim’s best time had been 9.92 seconds for a 100-meter run, which he aimed to better as much as possible. Together, the two formed a team of experts for Project World Record, including people like Charlie Francis, Milos “The Mind” Sarcev, and Trevor Graham. In the Netflix movie, Victor shared that Tim was then making use of a mixture of drugs like human growth hormone (HGH), Insulin, Erythropoietin (EPO), and Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), or “The Clear,” an anabolic steroid.
The regime that the team put Tim on meant that his performance kept on getting better. However, following an argument regarding branding and sponsorships between Tim and Victor during the final 100-meter trials for the 2000 Olympics, the two apparently parted ways. In September 2002, Tim did end up breaking the world record by getting a time of 9.78 seconds, beating the record held by Maurice Greene at the time.
However, during the investigation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) against BALCO, Tim testified that he had indeed used illegal substances provided to him by the company. This led to the USADA seeking a four-month suspension against him, a decision appealed by him to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). But alas, CAS ended up declaring him guilty on December 13, 2005, resulting in a two-year ban and his achievements post-March 31, 2001, being stripped from the record, including his world record, which, by this time, had already been broken by Asafa Powell. After his ban was imposed, Tim decided to retire from being an athlete.
Tim Montgomery is Now a Businessman and Athletic Trainer
Tim Montgomery’s legal troubles only continued after his involvement in the BALCO scandal was revealed. The retired athlete was indicted and arrested in April 2006 based on charges claiming that he was involved in a money laundering scheme. The whole case pertained to an amount equalling $5 million dollars, with Tim himself being accused of depositing three fraud checks worth a total of $775,000 in the bank, for which he allegedly received a payment of $20,000. He ended up pleading guilty on April 9, 2007. He was sentenced to 46 months in prison on May 16, 2008.
Additionally, Tim was indicted once more, this time for allegedly dealing more than 100 grams of heroin. The case was revealed on May 1, 2008, and the former athlete was sentenced to five months in prison in October of the same year after he pleaded guilty to the charges in July. However, as of writing, Tim seems to be living a life of a businessman and athletic trainer under the banner of NUMA Speed LLC. He is also a proud father of at least three kids, amongst whom his second eldest son, Tim Montgomery Jr, is an aspiring track athlete too and is being trained by his father. We wish Tim and his loved ones the best in life and hope they have a wonderful future ahead.
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