I was actually at this event and saw him run. :|
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DOPING CASE | Result is from Kansas Relays in April
Gatlin fails drug test
Sprinter is told he tested positive for testosterone but denies knowingly using banned substance.
By MECHELLE VOEPEL
The Kansas City Star
When Justin Gatlin came to the Kansas Relays in April, he talked about how important it was for the young American track stars to protect the sport’s reputation. He also said he was more than happy to take that responsibility.
Now, though, the track world is reeling from Gatlin’s announcement Saturday that he has tested positive for testosterone or its precursors. That test came after his April 22 relay race in Lawrence.
Gatlin, the reigning Olympic 100-meter champion and co-holder of the world record with Jamaica’s Asafa Powell, has been one of the more outspoken athletes about illegal drug use. He said in a statement that he had been informed by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that a urine sample he gave at KU was tested in July and showed an unusually high level of testosterone.
“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 said he fully intends to prove his innocence. USADA, not directly mentioning Gatlin, said that all athletes certainly have the opportunity to do so.
“USADA will not comment on the facts of any active case since the rules we follow allow for a full and fair process prior to the details of any case being made public,” USADA chief executive officer Terry Madden said in a statement. “Anyone accused of a doping violation has a right to have his or her case determined on the evidence through the established process and not on any other basis.”
Craig Masback, chief executive officer of USA Track and Field, released a statement saying the organization was “gravely concerned” about Gatlin’s positive test. The sport has been trying very hard to clean up its image in the wake of so much bad news in recent years about steroid use. For USATF, that has included the implementation of a “zero-tolerance policy,” which allows for the possibility of lifetime bans even for first-time offenders.
Gatlin, in fact, tested positive in college at Tennessee for a banned substance contained in a medication he had been taking since age 12 for attention deficit disorder. He was banned two years from international competition, meaning if this recent positive test holds up, he could face a lifetime ban.
This continues what’s been a strange summer for Gatlin, 24. In May in Qatar, he won a 100 race and was originally credited with a time of 9.76, which set the world record. A few days later, though, it was determined his time had been incorrectly rounded down instead of up, and it was officially changed to 9.77, equaling what Powell ran in 2005.
And this follows the recent news that American cyclist Floyd Landis, the Tour de France winner, tested positive for a testosterone imbalance.
Gatlin’s coach is Trevor Graham, who has long been scrutinized by anti-doping officials because several of his athletes have either tested positive or been accused of steroid use. The most prominent are Olympic champion Marion Jones and her former companion Tim Montgomery.
Montgomery ran what was then a world-record 9.78 in 2002 in Paris, but that was annulled in 2005 after he was suspended for two years for his involvement in the BALCO steroids case. Jones has also been implicated in that case, but she has not faced any charges and she’s never tested positive.
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DOPING CASE | Result is from Kansas Relays in April
Gatlin fails drug test
Sprinter is told he tested positive for testosterone but denies knowingly using banned substance.
By MECHELLE VOEPEL
The Kansas City Star
When Justin Gatlin came to the Kansas Relays in April, he talked about how important it was for the young American track stars to protect the sport’s reputation. He also said he was more than happy to take that responsibility.
Now, though, the track world is reeling from Gatlin’s announcement Saturday that he has tested positive for testosterone or its precursors. That test came after his April 22 relay race in Lawrence.
Gatlin, the reigning Olympic 100-meter champion and co-holder of the world record with Jamaica’s Asafa Powell, has been one of the more outspoken athletes about illegal drug use. He said in a statement that he had been informed by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that a urine sample he gave at KU was tested in July and showed an unusually high level of testosterone.
“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 said he fully intends to prove his innocence. USADA, not directly mentioning Gatlin, said that all athletes certainly have the opportunity to do so.
“USADA will not comment on the facts of any active case since the rules we follow allow for a full and fair process prior to the details of any case being made public,” USADA chief executive officer Terry Madden said in a statement. “Anyone accused of a doping violation has a right to have his or her case determined on the evidence through the established process and not on any other basis.”
Craig Masback, chief executive officer of USA Track and Field, released a statement saying the organization was “gravely concerned” about Gatlin’s positive test. The sport has been trying very hard to clean up its image in the wake of so much bad news in recent years about steroid use. For USATF, that has included the implementation of a “zero-tolerance policy,” which allows for the possibility of lifetime bans even for first-time offenders.
Gatlin, in fact, tested positive in college at Tennessee for a banned substance contained in a medication he had been taking since age 12 for attention deficit disorder. He was banned two years from international competition, meaning if this recent positive test holds up, he could face a lifetime ban.
This continues what’s been a strange summer for Gatlin, 24. In May in Qatar, he won a 100 race and was originally credited with a time of 9.76, which set the world record. A few days later, though, it was determined his time had been incorrectly rounded down instead of up, and it was officially changed to 9.77, equaling what Powell ran in 2005.
And this follows the recent news that American cyclist Floyd Landis, the Tour de France winner, tested positive for a testosterone imbalance.
Gatlin’s coach is Trevor Graham, who has long been scrutinized by anti-doping officials because several of his athletes have either tested positive or been accused of steroid use. The most prominent are Olympic champion Marion Jones and her former companion Tim Montgomery.
Montgomery ran what was then a world-record 9.78 in 2002 in Paris, but that was annulled in 2005 after he was suspended for two years for his involvement in the BALCO steroids case. Jones has also been implicated in that case, but she has not faced any charges and she’s never tested positive.
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