GREECE: ATHLETICS - US anti-doping agency seeks a maximum eight year ban for disgraced Olympic champion Justin Gatlin

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said on Tuesday it would seek a maximum ban of eight years for Olympic champion Justin Gatlin after the sprinter agreed he had committed a doping offence. Unless the ban is overturned in arbitration, Gatlin will lose the 100 metres world record of 9.77 seconds he jointly holds with Jamaican Asafa Powell. Gatlin also has promised to cooperate with USADA in its effort to eradicate the use of drugs in sport, the anti-doping agency said. The 24-year-old American tested positive for testosterone at the Kansas Relays on April 22. The positive drugs test was the second offence for Gatlin, who tested positive for an amphetamine at the U.S. junior championships in 2001. A New York native, Gatlin appealed that suspension, saying the prohibited stimulant was contained in a prescription medicine he had taken for 10 years for attention deficit disorder. "The nature of Gatlin's first offence for use of his medication puts this violation in a unique category," said Terry Madden, USADA chief executive officer. "Given these circumstances and consistent with the international CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) precedent, a maximum of an eight-year suspension is a fair and just outcome."

ITN Source | August 23, 2006

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