Athletics: Gatlin Could Face Life Ban

Justin Gatlin, the Olympic 100 metres champion and joint world record holder, could discover as early as next week whether he will be banned for life after testing positive for drugs for the second time in his career. The American is due to have a hearing next Monday after admitting on Saturday he had tested positive for testosterone during a random test in April.

He has denied knowingly taking any banned substances and his coach Trevor Graham has claimed that Gatlin's sample was sabotaged. "I cannot account for these results because I have never knowingly used any banned substance or authorised anyone else to administer such a substance to me," Gatlin said in a statement."It is simply not consistent with my character or my confidence in my God-given athletic ability to cheat in any way."

Because Gatlin also failed a drug test five years ago for a stimulant found in medication he had been taking since childhood for attention deficit disorder, he faces a lifetime ban if found guilty. His chances of escaping punishment are remote because it has been established that the testosterone he tested positive for was artificially administered.

If the result is upheld, Gatlin would lose the world record of 9.77sec, which he equalled on May 12. He would be the second athlete to be coached by Graham to be stripped of the record after Tim Montgomery last year. "Someone has sabotaged my athlete," said Graham. "Justin did not take any banned substances. He's got his own nutritional supplements that he goes out and buys. He will not trust anyone to take anything for him, not his parents, not his coach, not anyone." Cameron Myler, Gatlin's lawyer, distanced him from Graham's claim, saying Gatlin did not believe his drink had been spiked.

Graham, who was not returning calls last night, is currently being investigated over his links to the Balco scandal and Gatlin could now also be drawn in. The San Francisco Chronicle yesterday reported that in June 2003 the Balco founder and owner Victor Conte drafted a letter to the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the International Association of Athletics Federations identifying Gatlin as among athletes Graham was doping with "oraltestosterone undeconoate". The unsent correspondence forms part of the evidence gathered by the FBI.