This just crossed the wire. Only took 11 months to settle the whole matter, including arbitration. I thought the USADA charter called for a much tighter timeframe for settling these things.
Track and field athlete suspended after failing drug test May 14, 2002 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -- Justin Gatlin, an NCAA and Southeastern Conference champion who runs for Tennessee, has received a two-year conditional suspension after testing positive for amphetamine, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Tuesday. Gatlin, 20, of Pensacola, Fla., tested positive for the substance in a urine sample taken at the 2001 U.S.A. Track & Field Junior National Championships June 16 in Richmond, Va. Amphetamine, which is banned in athletic competition, was contained in prescription medication Gatlin has been taking for 10 years. Gatlin must forfeit his first-place finishes in the 100 and 200 meters, and 110-meter hurdles. Amphetamine, a stimulant, is banned by the International Association of Athletics Federations. The agency said Gatlin stopped taking his prescription medicine several days before the competition, but it did not fully clear his system. A three-member panel from the North American Court of Arbitration for Sport determined that Gatlin was not trying to cheat, and his mistake was at most a technical violation. It was the 13th drug suspension announced by the doping agency this year. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, an independent agency funded by the federal government, oversees drug-testing of American athletes. On the Net: U.S. Anti-Doping Agency: http://www.usantidoping.org __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience http://launch.yahoo.com
