Gatlin given four-year ban
Justin Gatlin's last race was a success at the 2006 US national championship
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Tuesday, 01, Jan 2008 08:33
Olympic 100m champion Justin Gatlin has been banned from athletics for four years according to a United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) official.
The 25-year-old had originally been handed an eight-year suspension following a positive test for testosterone in 2006, but has had his punishment eased after offering to cooperate with the USADA in its case against his former coach Trevor Graham.
Gatlin has spent the past 20 months attempting to clear his name and may decide to take his fight to defend his title in Beijing next summer to the court of arbitration for sport.
The ban, which is retroactive to April 2006, is now due to expire on May 24th 2010.
Gatlin escaped the usual lifetime ban for a second positive test after arguing that the first blemish on his doping record, a stimulant offence during his college career at the University of Tennessee, was the result of medication he was taking for attention deficit disorder.
USADA general counsel member Bill Bock revealed that the arbitration panel that sat in judgment over his case voted by a 2-1 majority for a four-year ban.
Gatlin's mother claimed that her son still holds out hope of reducing his sentence.
"It took them five months to come to this? It's ridiculous," Jeanette Gatlin said to the Washington Post.
"I think everybody is blindsided by this opinion. There is no doubt about that. We will be talking to his lawyer later today."