The bitter-sweet experiences from the Pan American Games in the Dominican Republic surrounding Guyana’s track ace Marian Joan Burnett, continued with the news that the winner of the 800m at the Pan Am games has failed a drug test.

This means that Burnette, who placed third in the 800m final, has moved up to the silver medal slot.

Burnett’s fortune was manifest when Games organisers stripped the race’s original winner Letitia Vriesde of Suriname who failed a drug test that was analysed in Montreal.

The world-ranked Vriesde was penalized for “pronounced traces of caffeine intake.”

It now means that Burnett has the legitimate No.2 position behind new gold medallist Adriana Munoz of Cuba, with Brazil’s Christiane Ritz dos Santos getting the bronze.

The news was conveyed to Burnett early Monday morning, by teammate Aliann Pompey (400m bronze medallist) after the Guyana team was advised of the official action in the Spanish-speaking nation.

At the time, Burnett was preparing to checkout of a Miami hotel where she was forced to overnight after missing a connecting flight to Louisiana, through no fault of hers. According to Burnett, she endured a series of protracted immigration procedures at the Miami airport.

“Man, that place was filled to capacity with passengers standing in lines for hours for attention. It stretched beyond the departure time for my connection home,” Burnett said, adding, “the airline put me up, but I still had to partially fund my accommodation and meals. Right now, I just want to get back in the bayou (Baton Rouge).”

“Getting this news (silver medal award), lightens this episode of frustration,” the national champion said, adding that she was surprised by the turn of the events, but more contented for Guyana’s fortune.

“I am disappointed that someone who is such a decorated professional athlete is on the block at this stage of her career and at such a level,” she said.

“It’s rather unfortunate for Letitia, but I hope she’ll be able to get over this. On the other hand, I am happy for the Guyanese people moving up with a silver and bronze from track, hopefully no body else is taking stuff.”

Burnett said that like Vriesde, she was also subjected to drug testing applications at the Games, but was not worried about any adverse development, because...”I play by the rules.”

“Look at me! I am a magnet for tests, just like that. I have had several tests for this year,” she declared.

The diminutive half-miler told this newspaper that she was banking on a win, if it weren’t for a devastating mid-race mix-up in which she was the only medallist involved.

She also indicated that she had victories over Vriesde in two races they shared this year in Croatia and Algeria.

The caffeine in Vriesde’s system was at such a high level that it provoked the Games organiser president Mario Vasquez Rana into a withering attack. “She would have needed to drink gallons of coffee for that level of caffeine to be found in her body,” he remarked acidly.

Vriesde, who is based in the Netherlands and viewed as the top 800m runner representing countries in this hemisphere, leaves the meet failing to defend her 1999 Games title. She is a multiple Olympics, World Cup of Athletics (WCP), World Championships, and Central American and Caribbean (CAC) finalist and medalist. The 38-year old Surinamese is the South American record holder at 800m (1:56.68) and 1500m (4:05.67) and is the only female athlete from the continent to ever win IAAF World Championships medals - silver (1995) and bronze (2001).

When contacted while driving his charge home from the Louis Armstrong International airport in Louisiana, Burnett’s coach Mark Elliott said: “What happened to Vriesde is precisely why there are rules. We don’t have to speculate why she (Vriesde) got caught. There are many reasons, but apparently she did. So if you’re not playing fair according to the rules, you don’t deserve to win a medal, and then the others move up, so it’s like Marian got second in the race she works hard, and deserves it.”

The silver medal is reported to have been presented to the Guyana team officials in the Spanish-speaking nation while Burnett said she has already arranged to return the bronze medal by certified express courier service.

The new medal gives Guyana the best returns in the `race-involvement- to-medal-won’ ratio of the 42 nations in the track and field segment of the Games.

Through Burnett and Pompey, Guyana won medals (800m silver and 400m bronze) in each event contested, an achievement better than those of overall front-runners the U.S., Cuba and Mexico.