TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Gatlin Will Challenge 4-Year Suspension

ADVERTISEMENT

The Associated Press

Published: January 3, 2008

Olympic champion sprinter Justin Gatlin will challenge his four-year doping suspension and may take the case to federal court.

"We may have to file multiple actions at the same time," Gatlin's attorney, John Collins, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

A three-member arbitration panel voted 2-1 to suspend Gatlin, who faced a possible eight-year ban for his second doping offense, in a 53-page ruling released Tuesday.

Under the panel's ruling, Gatlin would be eligible to run May 25, 2010. That would prevent him from defending his 100-meter title at the Beijing Olympics this August. If the sprinter can get his first offense erased, it likely would result in a two-year ban that would expire this May, a month before the U.S. Olympic trials.

Asked if he thought any appeal or court action could be completed in time, Collins said, "I don't know. Obviously that's the goal."

He said he believes there is precedent for a U.S. court ruling to be applied internationally, but acknowledges that's not a certainty.

Gatlin tested positive for excessive testosterone at the Kansas Relays in April 2006. It was his second doping offense. As a 19-year-old competitor at the world junior championships, Gatlin tested positive for amphetamines, part of a prescribed medication he was taking for attention deficit disorder.

The panel unanimously ruled Gatlin committed a doping offense in April 2006, but the sprinter's first doping offense in 2001 troubled the group.

Jones Asks Judge To Waive Prison Time

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Former Olympic champion Marion Jones says she has been punished enough and should not have to go to prison for lying about steroids and check fraud.

In court papers filed on New Year's Eve, Jones' lawyers asked a federal judge to let her off with probation when he sentences her next week.

"She has been cast from American hero to national disgrace," the memo said. "The public scorn, from a nation that once adored her, and her fall from grace have been severe punishments. ... She has been stripped of her gold medals, her accomplishments, her wealth and her public standing."

Jones admitted in court in October that she lied to federal investigators. Outside court, the former track and field star announced her retirement and said through tears, "It's with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust."

She has since relinquished her five Olympic medals.

As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors suggested she be sentenced to six months in prison at most. In pre-sentencing papers filed Dec. 21 prosecutors said anything between no time and six months would be appropriate.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT