Eyes popped and jaws dropped around the shot put ring at April’s Kansas Relays moments after Kevin Toth heaved the shot 74 feet, 4 1/2 inches.

Toth’s prodigious throw at Memorial Stadium was the best in the world in almost 13 years.

Now comes word that Toth, a 36-year-old from Hudson, Ohio, tested positive for the newly discovered steroid THG and the stimulant modafinil at the U.S. championships. He faces a two-year suspension, the U.S. Olympic Committee announced Monday.

Doug Reynolds, the Kansas University throwing coach who had encouraged Toth to compete at the 2003 Kansas Relays, cautions that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.

“Kevin has been a friend of mine for a long time,” Reynolds said. “I’m not going to pass judgment on him until we hear both sides of the story. I hope people and the media feel the same way.”

Reynolds, a former discus standout at Arizona University now in his fourth year on KU track coach Stanley Redwine’s staff, stressed he hoped Toth was cleared of wrongdoing.

“It’s sad he’s caught up in this thing,” Reynolds said. “He’s a great guy, but if he made the decision to cheat the system by using illegal drugs, I don’t condone that. But there are two sides of the story, and there are a lot of unanswered questions on both sides.”

Toth is one of four athletes who flunked THG tests during the national championships in June at Stanford University. The others were middle-distance runner Regina Jacobs, hammer thrower John McEwen and hammer thrower Melissa Price. Jacobs and Price also won titles at that national meet.

Toth’s winning throw in the national championships was measured at 69-71/2 or almost five feet shorter than his best throw at the Kansas Relays, which came on his fifth attempt.

Kevin Toth, seen during the World Athletics Championships at the Stade de France in Saint Denis in this Aug. 23, 2003 photo, has tested positive for the newly discovered steroid THG and the stimulant modafinil at the U.S. championships. Toth, who competed at last year's Kansas Relays, faces a two-year suspension, the U.S. Olympic Committee announced Monday.

“His warm-up throws were immense,” Reynolds said, recalling Toth’s performance at last spring’s Relays. “He fouled on his first three throws, then his coach talked to him and told him he needed to settle down. After that, he stepped in and made that enormous throw.”

Toth broke his own Relays record of 71-21/2 set in 1997. The world shot put record is 75-101/4 by Randy Barnes in 1990.

The USOC said Toth also tested positive for THG during an out-of-competition test July 27, 2003, a month after winning his first U.S. title.

Toth is disputing the THG test results through the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s arbitration process, as are McEwen and Price. Jacobs has gone outside the USADA process, filing an arbitration claim with the American Arbitration Assn.

All four face two-year bans if the positive tests are upheld. Final decisions on their cases are expected this spring.

— The Associated Press contributed information for this story.