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LOS ANGELES: US sprinter Justin Gatlin, who is
appealing his doping ban in a bid to defend his Olympic 100m title,
this week filed a brief with the Court of Arbitration for Sport
outlining his case.
Gatlin’s four-year ban stems
from a positive test for testosterone at the Kansas Relays on April
22, 2006.
He was treated as a repeat
offender because he had tested positive for a stimulant at a
university meeting earlier in his career, and lawyer Maurice Suh
said that was unfair.
“Our case is simple: Justin
should be allowed to compete in the June (US) trials for the Beijing
Olympics because the anti-doping authorities violated the Americans
with Disabilities Act when it sanctioned Justin in 2001 for taking
attention-deficit disorder medication and later used that sanction
to bar him from participating in the Olympics,” Suh said in a
statement on Thursday.
“Punishing Justin for taking
medicine that was prescribed by a doctor and does not enhance
performance in any way is unfair and constitutes discrimination
against a person with a diagnosed disability,” Suh said
--AFP
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