byLarry EderJustlin Gatlin’s appeal to be reinstated in order to compete in the Beijing Games has been rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport-CAS. Justin Gatlin tested positive for a second time in April 2006, but it was not officially announced until July 2006. Gatlin had an earlier conviction over some drugs used for Attention Deficit Disorder, which he had taken much of his early life, but which he did not know that they were among the banned substances by the IAAF.
The IAAF issues a response below, supporting the rejection of Gatlin’s appeal. Justin Gatlin will be unable to compete until JUly 25 2010. He will miss Beijing 2008 and Berlin 2009.
IAAF DEFEATS GATLIN CAS APPEAL
6 June 2008
Monte-Carlo – The IAAF is pleased to announce that this afternoon the Panel of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected Justin Gatlin’s appeal. Had Gatlin succeeded he would have been eligible for competition at the summer Olympic Games in Beijing. The CAS Panel imposed a 4 year period of ineligibility.
This was Justin Gatlin’s second offence. The first was for a drug used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder, which Gatlin had taken unknowingly.
The result means that Justin Gatlin will not be re-eligible for competition until 25 July 2010.
IAAF President Lamine Diack said: “This result demonstrates the IAAF’s determination to remove the scourge of doping from our sport. We will fight as hard as necessary, and commit all the resources necessary to ensure that this is done. There is no place for doped athletes in our sport.â€
