Olympic champ - World's fastest man Gatlin fails drug test

When it rains it pours...
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Olympic champ Gatlin says he failed drug test in April

Reigning Olympic and world 100-meter champion Justin Gatlin said Saturday he has been informed that he tested positive for testosterone or its precursors.

"I have been informed by the United States Anti-doping Agency that after a relay race I ran in Kansas City on April 22, I tested positive for 'testosterone or its precursors,' " Gatlin said in a statement.

Gatlin's attorney, Cameron Myler, told Reuters in a telephone call from New York, "It is unfortunate, but it is true."

"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."

Gatlin, the co-world record holder with Jamaica's Asafa Powell at 100 meters, is coached by Trevor Graham, whose former pupils include Tim Montgomery and Marion Jones, both of whom have both been prominently mentioned in the BALCO steroids investigation. Several athletes coached by Graham have been suspended or banned for doping.

Gatlin said he was "particularly sensitive to this issue" because he tested positive in college for a banned substance contained in Adderall, which he took to calm attention deficit disorder. He served a two-year ban in international competition after that infraction, meaning another positive test could result in a lifetime ban.

"That experience made me even more vigilant to make certain that I not come into contact with any banned substance for any reason whatsoever, because any additional anti-doping rule offense could mean a lifetime ban from the sport that I love," Gatlin said.

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LMFAO

 

One side of my brain says these guys are going to have certain levels of testoterone etc that are through the roof because they are the best athletes the in the world. Like Lance and his giant lungs.

The other sane side of my brain says they are all cheating...

I am confused by the random testing ~ why not give them a test after every event? Especially after a big final -- this is what they were doing with Lance as I understand it -- he was tested after every ride
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If Gatlin is juicing then his buddy [can't recall his name won the olympic 200] is going to be the next to get tagged. That guy is just way to big and ripped to be so fast IMO -- I mean his upper body looks bigger than a linebacker.
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If Gatlin is juicing then maybe Maurice Greene really is the Greatest of All Time -- he has that big G.O.A.T tatoo.

 

No disrepect just discussion -- i've seen other pics of Crawford and heard him talk about it himself on the overdevelopment of his upper body. He is body builder ripped which is strange for a sprinter. But absolutely it could just be genetics and not drugs -- certainly people can be ripped with out juicing. It's just this web of connections that are very suspicious.

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Gatlin was busted before for taking Adderall (which is a strong amphetamine) for ADHD. There isn't anyone in track and field that doesn't know you can't take amphetamines under any circumstances. So that entire incident was very dubious. There have been olympic medalists stripped for taking cold medicine like actifed that have ephedrine. When Gatlin got busted for the Adderall that was his one strike -- he knew well that any other positive tests would mean a lifetime ban.

 

Pressure on for Gatlin to explain positive test

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While his coach claimed Justin Gatlin's positive drug test was a result of sabotage, the leader of the World Anti-Doping Agency on Sunday called for the U.S. sprinter to be banned for "up to life" if the results are confirmed.

Gatlin's coach, Trevor Graham, said in an interview on Jamaican television that the Olympic and world champion and co-world-record holder in the 100 meters was the victim of a setup.

"We are 100 percent sure who it is," Graham said. "The individual that did it, it's an individual that we fired and we went back and hired ... he came to the Kansas relay and was [upset] with Justin."

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Hard to believe he is about to get a life time ban -- his excuse is utterly lame.
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GATLIN ACCOUNTABLE - IAAF

Justin Gatlin has been told he will be held accountable for the testosterone found in his body following his positive drugs test.

The disgraced Olympic and world 100 metres champion announced on Saturday he had failed a test at the Kansas Relays in April and faces a lifetime ban from the sport.

His coach Trevor Graham insists Gatlin was set up when a massage therapist with a grudge administered testosterone by rubbing cream into his legs

However, the world governing body the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) would have little sympathy with such a theory under its strict liability regulations which means an athlete is responsible for whatever is in their system.

"Whatever is found in an athlete's body when tested is his or her responsibility alone," said an IAAF spokesman this morning.

He added: "We have been advising athletes for many years now of this strict liability policy and encouraged them to be very cautious when receiving any form of treatment."

Gatlin's future in the biggest doping scandal since Ben Johnson tested positive for stanozolol after becoming the 1988 Olympic champion, looks bleak.

The joint holder of the world 100m record faces a lifetime sentence having committed an earlier offence five years ago when he tested positive for amphetamines after winning the American junior title although he was given early reinstatement from his two-year suspension.

The IAAF accepted he had been prescribed as part of his normal medication for attention deficit disorder but under its 'two-hit' powers, warned him he would face a life ban if he committed a further offence.

Gatlin's lawyer Cameron Myler has already distanced the legal team from Graham's statement fully aware it is a useless argument.

Now Myler will have to come up with more valid reasons for the drugs violation when the case is heard by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)

However, Gatlin's future is on a precipice as the test indicated the testosterone was not naturally produced in the body but administered externally.

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Pound positive on Gatlin B sample

KINGSTON, Jamaica: Justin Gatlin was facing the prospect of a life ban after the World Anti-Doping Agency revealed his drugs test B sample had returned a positive, with WADA chairman Dick Pound calling for a harsh penalty if the results are confirmed.

Pound told BBC Radio that Gatlin's B test had backed up the A sample's positive for testosterone. "The B sample is positive, they've gone through that whole exercise," he said.

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Gatlin gets eight-year ban, will help with investigation

Sprinter Justin Gatlin received an eight-year ban from track and field Tuesday, avoiding a lifetime penalty in exchange for his cooperation with doping authorities and because his first positive drug test was deemed an honest mistake.

He will forfeit the world record he tied in May, when he ran the 100 meters in 9.77 seconds. At age 24, the lengthy ban would all but knock Gatlin out of competition for the rest of his life.

Gatlin tested positive in April for testosterone or other steroids, five years after his first positive test, which was for medicine to control attention-deficit disorder. Under the World Anti-Doping Agency code, a second doping offense calls for a lifetime ban.

But Gatlin reached a compromise with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which levies doping penalties in America. Under terms of the compromise, he can still appeal to an arbitration panel in the next six months to have the term reduced.

The Olympics are less than two years away, meaning that even if Gatlin's suspension were reduced to two years, he wouldn't compete in Beijing.

"We're shooting for something way less than two years," said Gatlin attorney Cameron Myler. "The goal is to have him back on the track as soon as possible."

When Gatlin appeals, however, he cannot argue the test was faulty.

"To his credit, it's recognition that the science is reliable," USADA general counsel Travis Tygart told The Associated Press. "Instead of wasting a bunch of resources attempting to create smoke where there's not any, he's acknowledging the accuracy of the positive test, and in exchange for his agreement to cooperate, we've recognized the nature of his first offense."

The first offense occurred while Gatlin was in college. He stopped taking the ADD medicine a few days before competition, but it did not clear his system. He received a two-year ban for that test, which was reduced by a year because of the "exceptional circumstances" of the offense.

"The nature of Gatlin's first offense for use of his medication puts this violation in a unique category," said USADA chief executive officer Terry Madden.

Gatlin has said he didn't know how steroids got into his system this time.

One of his attorneys, John Collins, said Gatlin would spell out his case at the arbitration hearing. He would not discuss strategy.

"The last time this happened, he went to the panel and explained he neither cheated nor intended to cheat," said Collins, who helped get that first ban reduced. "This time, we'll explain the full stack of circumstances and everything around it and, hopefully, we'll get a similar result."

He said the circumstances "indicate he deserves something far less than eight years, if anything."

Collins wouldn't confirm the argument would be based claims by Gatlin's coach, Trevor Graham, who has contended Gatlin tested positive after a vengeful massage therapist used testosterone cream on the runner without his knowledge. Graham has been involved with at least a half-dozen athletes who've received drug suspensions and has been barred from U.S. Olympic Committee training sites.

Gatlin has long positioned himself as a champion of clean and drug-free competition in a sport dogged by scandal. The head of USA Track and Field called Gatlin's case "a setback for our sport."

"While we are glad Justin has taken responsibility for his positive test and will cooperate in USADA's anti-doping efforts, we are sorely disappointed in him," USATF chief executive officer Craig Masback said in a statement.

USOC chairman Peter Ueberroth, meanwhile, said the penalty can be a positive.

"Since becoming an elite-level athlete, Justin has talked about the importance of eradicating doping in sport," Uberroth said. "By acknowledging his doping positive and agreeing to work with USADA, Justin now has an opportunity to put those words into action. He can play a meaningful role in solving a problem that is reaching a crisis level in American sport."

USADA looks at this as a significant compromise -- and the arbitration process could bring Gatlin back much sooner than eight years.

USADA has a history of offering leniency to those who help in its fight against doping. Though the agency doesn't name names, Gatlin could possibly help USADA by providing information on Graham, who has denied any direct involvement with performance-enhancing drugs.

"He accepted liability," Tygart said. "He agreed not to raise technical arguments or frivolous defenses. He has an opportunity to go to a panel of arbitrators and argue exceptional circumstances."

In this case, the exceptional circumstances could be that he was sabotaged, or has no idea how the steroids entered his system.

And if that defense doesn't work, Gatlin's willingness to cooperate could also be viewed in a positive light.

Graham's attorney, Joe Zeszotarski, released a statement supporting Gatlin.

"As Trevor has stated publicly, he completely supports Justin Gatlin and Justin's cooperation with USADA and efforts to get reinstated," Zeszotarski said. "Trevor knows he has done nothing wrong in his relationship with Justin or any of his athletes, and only wants the truth to come out."

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