Defending World and Olympic 400 meter champion LaShawn Merritt just recently completed a two-year suspension for three positive tests in 2009 and 2010 for the steroid Dehydroepiandrosterone, which he had allegedly consumed through the use of a male enhancement drug. His two-year suspension ended after the U.S. Nationals, so he could not qualify for the World Championships....but he had a wild card bid as a defending champion...but...USATF rules state that wild cards (defending World Champions) must compete in some event at the nationals.....but...the USATF made an exception for Merritt and named him to the team after Merritt threatened legal action.
Now London...the IOC has a rule which prohibits athletes who have served a drug ban of six months or greater from participating in the next Olympic Games. The USOC is challenging the IOC on this ruling and the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) will likely announce a decision in September.
Others are looking at this decision, including Great Britain which issues a lifetime ban for drug cheats. Sprinter Dwain Chambers and cyclist David Millar have served suspensions, but cannot represent Britain in the Olympics.
The one thing I am really not certain of is what exactly Merritt was trying to enhance.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment