Olympic and world 400m champion LaShawn Merritt has failed three doping tests for a banned substance and accepted a provisional suspension, his lawyer said on Thursday.
“LaShawn Merritt has accepted a provisional suspension as a result of positive drug tests caused by his use of an over-the-counter male enhancement product,” the US athlete’s attorney Howard Jacobs said in a statement. “His voluntary acceptance of a provisional suspension means that he has chosen not to compete until the case has been decided.”
The US Anti-Doping Agency confirmed the positives contained prohormones of the banned male sex hormone testosterone and said in an e-mail to reporters its investigation of Merritt’s case was continuing. It will have no further comment until the process is complete, a spokeswoman said.
Should the 23-year-old receive a standard two-year suspension, it would prevent him from defending his world title next year and seriously hamper his preparations for the 2012 Olympics.
“I am disgusted by this entire episode,” USA Track and Field chief executive Doug Logan said in a statement.
Merritt won individual 400m gold at the 2008 Olympics and last year’s world championships, and led the US to victory in the 4x400m relay in both competitions.
His victory by almost a second over defending champion Jeremy Wariner at the Beijing Games was the largest-winning margin in the event for more than 100 years.
Merritt’s statement said he had used the over-the-counter product, which contained DHEA and pregnenolone, at the end of last season.
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