Justin Gatlin Still Out of Olympics
The Court of Arbitration for Sport denied Justin Gatlin's doping appeal today, all-but eliminating any chance for the sprinter to defend his 100-meter Olympic title at this summer's Games, according to the Associated Press.
The IAAF said they never wanted to see Gatlin on a track again. Gatlin wanted to compete in August. The CAS split the difference.
His sentence was already reduced once—from eight to four years—by an initial arbitration panel in January. But today’s ruling means a 2008 Olympic medal is almost impossible for 26-year-old Gatlin. Olympic trials are only three weeks away, and his only option is to appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, an endeavor only one athlete has ever done with any success. Nevertheless, Gatlin says he’ll continue fighting to have his sentence reduced. Or maybe play football instead.
The one-time world record holder is sticking to his story that the excessive amounts of testosterone mysteriously appeared in his system. The IAAF is standing by their two strikes you’re out rule—and Gatlin tested positive twice. Because the first test was compromised by medication he was taking to treat attention-deficit disorder, he reached an agreement to reduce the typically automatic lifetime ban to just eight years.
-Claire Napier Galofaro
Is USATF real anymore??
Posted by: michelle | June 27, 2008 at 01:48 PM