Gatlin arbitration hearing set for end of July

By Gene Cherry

SALVO, North Carolina (Reuters) - Olympic 100 meters champion Justin Gatlin's arbitration hearing on doping charges will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 30-31, his attorney said on Tuesday.

The American joint world record-holder tested positive for the male sex hormone testosterone or its precursors at the Kansas Relays in April 2006, but has denied knowingly taking banned substances.

"We are hoping the arbitration panel will look at the exceptional circumstances of his case and provide a penalty consistent with those exceptional circumstances," attorney John Collins told Reuters in a telephone interview from Zurich.

Gatlin tested positive in 2001 for an amphetamine contained in a medication he took for 10 years for Attention Deficit Disorder. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) later reinstated him after one year of a two-year suspension, finding that he had not intentionally committed a doping violation.

The positive, however, could be considered by the arbitration panel in determining the length of Gatlin's suspension.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) capped Gatlin's maximum possible penalty at eight years last August after he agreed to the accuracy of the laboratory results of his 2006 positive. He could have faced a life ban.

Gatlin has also co-operated with anti-doping officials, Collins said.

"His primary goal is to get back on the track," Collins added, although Gatlin has tried out for several National Football League teams.

Gatlin would not be eligible to run until July 2014 unless he receives a shorter ban. He would then be 32, a relatively advanced age for a sprinter.

The 2004 Olympic gold medalist equaled Asafa Powell's 100 meters world record of 9.77 seconds in May 2006. He would lose the record unless cleared by the arbitration panel.

No decision has been made on whether the hearing will be open to the public, Collins said.