World 100 meters record holder Tim Montgomery admitted that he used human growth hormone and could face a lifetime ban, according to a San Francisco newspaper report on Thursday.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Montgomery told a grand jury that he was given weekly doses of growth hormone and "the clear" over eight months ending in mid-2001.

"The clear" was not an illegal steroid but Montgomery, who had publicly denied any wrongdoing, admitted that he knew growth hormone was a banned substance.

Montgomery, who set a 100m world record of 9.78 seconds in 2002, is among four US athletes who were notified Wednesday by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USAD) that they face doping charges that could bring life-time bans, according to other newspaper reports.

Source: Xinhua