Olympic Champion Faces Lifetime Ban
Justin Gatlin, the Olympic and world 100-meter champion, will get a lifetime ban from the sport's international governing body if he is found guilty of doping.
The International Association of Athletics Federation said in a statement Sunday that the 100-meter world record holder has agreed to attend a hearing before the United States Anti-Doping Agency Review Board.
"If the USADA procedure concludes by confirming the violation, the sanction under IAAF rules will be a life ban," the IAAF said.
If his test is confirmed, it would be Gatlin's second offense, and would mean a lifetime ban from the sport. While in college, the American tested positive for a banned substance contained in Adderall, which he took to calm attention deficit disorder.
He was given a two-year ban in international competition after the first infraction, but it was later reduced to one year.
IAAF spokesman Nick Davies said Gatlin has not been suspended from racing by the IAAF because of an agreement the sprinter made with the USADA.
"We haven't needed to suspend him because he agreed with USADA not to run until the hearing," Davies said.
Gatlin said Saturday that he tested positive for testosterone or other prohibited steroids. He released a statement through his publicist saying that the USADA informed him of the test taken after a relay race in Kansas in April.
Gatlin said he will cooperate with USADA "and hope that when all the facts are revealed it will be determined that I have done nothing wrong."
"I cannot account for these results, because I have never knowingly used any banned substance or authorized anyone else to administer such a substance to me," Gatlin said. "In the course of my entire professional career, I have been tested more than 100 times. ... All of the tests this season, including the out-of-competition and in-competition tests conducted just before and after the race in Kansas, were negative."
If found guilty, Gatlin can appeal the USADA's decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Gatlin, who in May tied Jamaica's Asafa Powell for the world record in the 100 at 9.77 seconds, would lose the record if the result is upheld.
"In order to defend the credibility of our sport, we will engage all our efforts, in co-operation with partners such as USADA, to defend the majority of athletes who are clean, against those who break our anti-doping rules," IAAF president Lamine Diack said.
Powell, who was on his way back to Jamaica after competing in London on Friday, was surprised to hear the news about Gatlin, according to his agent Paul Doyle.
"He had a lot of questions. He wanted to know how valid it was," Doyle said, adding that people are now likely to become suspicious of Powell.
"Any time an athlete is on top, people suspect they are on drugs," Doyle said. "In no way is Asafa Powell doping."
Doyle also said a lifetime ban was too lenient a punishment for athletes caught doping.
"They're too easy on drug offenders.
"Beyond the lifetime ban, I believe athletes should be jailed for doping offenses. Essentially, they're committing fraud," Doyle said. "It's the only way we're going to be able to clean up this sport."
Gatlin's revelation came just days after Tour de France winner Floyd Landis tested positive for a testosterone imbalance after his stirring comeback victory. The American cyclist claims his body's natural metabolism caused the result.