Despite Quitting, Hunter Banned

World shot put champion C.J. Hunter, who received a two-year suspension Thursday for testing positive for the banned steroid nandrolone, reiterated that he is retired.

Hunter, husband of triple Olympic champion Marion Jones, was suspended by USA Track & Field organization after he chose not to fight doping charges brought against him by the International Amateur Athletic Federation and USATF.

Hunter, who announced his retirement in Sydney, Australia, last year, accepted the ban, but "vehemently denies knowingly taking any banned substance" and maintains he is "the victim of an otherwise legal, contaminated supplement," the USATF said in a statement.

The USATF said Hunter "confirmed his long-held desire to retire from competition by submitting the proper retirement form.

Under IAAF and USATF rule, an athlete is responsible for any prohibited substance found in his or her system, regardless of how it got there. Hunter's excuse that he did not intend to take a prohibited substance would not be a defense to a finding of a doping violation.

Hunter tested positive four times last summer for the steroid nandrolone. The case broke during the Sydney Olympics.

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