Marsh to Be Aided by USOC : Track and field: In an unusual move, Olympic committee will back his appeal of suspension by The Athletics Congress.

In an unprecedented decision, the U.S. Olympic Committee has joined with Henry Marsh, a four-time Olympian, in filing for arbitration to seek reversal of a two-year suspension levied last April by The Athletics Congress.

TAC, the national governing body of track and field, suspended Marsh after he failed to report for a drug test in December of 1989. Failure to provide a sample in TAC’s year-round, out-of-competition testing program is cause for a two-year suspension. Marsh’s suspension took effect Jan. 15.

Marsh, of Bountiful, Utah, exhausted his appeal remedies within TAC--before a hearing panel and then an appeal board--and took the unprecedented step of taking his case to the USOC, which functions as amateur sports’ highest court.

Although the USOC ruled it could not settle the controversy, it will provide financial support for Marsh’s arbitration. A USOC spokesman called the decision to support Marsh “a landmark.”

According to TAC and USOC officials, no athlete had ever appealed to the USOC to reverse a suspension in a drug case. In addition, the USOC has never before sided with an athlete in an action against a national governing body. Ronald T. Rowan, USOC general counsel, declined to comment Tuesday, saying: “The U.S. Olympic Committee treats an athlete complaint as a confidential matter, unless it is made public by one of the two parties and they wish to comment on it. At this point, I just don’t feel it’s appropriate to comment on it.”

Marsh, 36, has appealed his suspension on the grounds that TAC’s Custodial Board, which handles drug-testing cases, failed to follow its own procedures regarding notification of athletes that they must report to provide a test sample. At the time of the Marsh case, the Custodial Board protocol required that an athlete be notified both in writing and by telephone that he had up to 48 hours to report for a test. In Marsh’s case, only a written notification was made.

Marsh was not home at the time the written notice was made, and learned of it a day later from his wife, who had received the letter. No phone call to Marsh was made to verify that the letter had been received.

TAC general counsel Bob Hersh described the argument as a “technicality” and said that despite the lack of adherence to protocol, “there was clearly notice (given).”

The Custodial Board’s policy has since been changed to require only written notification. The five-member board has had a stormy year--three members, including Edwin Moses, resigned, claiming lack of support by TAC. The three have since returned to the board until the end of the year.

The case was filed Friday in Denver and will be heard by a federal arbitrator.