Authorities rejects sprinter Gatlin's Olympic appeal

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

PARIS (AFP) — The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rejected an appeal by American sprinter Justin Gatlin to have a doping ban reduced so he could defend his 100 metre crown at the Beijing Olympics.

Gatlin received a four-year ban from a positive test for testosterone at the Kansas Relays on April 22, 2006. It wiped out a 9.77-second victory in Doha three weeks later that equalled the then-world record.

Gatlin was treated as a repeat offender after testing positive in 2001 for a stimulant in an attention-deficit disorder medication, a punishment Gatlin contends violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A January appeal to a US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) arbitration panel went against the 26-year-old sprinter by a 2-1 vote, prompting the appeal to...