Jamaican sprinters Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson have had their 18-month drug suspensions cut to six months and are free to continue competing, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Monday.
“The CAS decided to reduce their period of ineligibility to six months, which has been already served,” the global court said in a statement on its Web site.
CAS said it would announce a reason for its decision in a few weeks.
Powell and Simpson, who had tested positive for a stimulant last year, both said they were elated with the decision.
“I feel total relief and that we have finally been vindicated,” Simpson said in a statement. “Our actions were not intentional and CAS has recognized that. I am truly thankful.”
“I always felt that the 18 months was not in line with a first time positive test result and it being proven it came from a tainted supplement,” Powell said.
Jamaican officials said they would abide by the decision.
“We see and note the ruling by CAS, and we will abide by the ruling as it is from the final court,” Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission executive director Carey Brown said.
A Jamaican anti-doping disciplinary panel had suspended former 100m world record holder Powell and 2008 Olympic 100m silver medalist Simpson for 18 months after they had tested positive for the stimulant oxilofrine at the Jamaican world championship trials last year.
The sprinters appealed and CAS granted a stay of the decision, allowing them to run beginning last month while it decided the case.
Simpson ran at the Jamaican championships last month and both she and Powell, who has not yet run because of a tight hamstring, were scheduled to compete yesterday in Lucerne, Switzerland.
Their original suspensions had been scheduled to expire in December.
The CAS ruling marked the second time in three months it has reduced a doping suspension imposed by a Jamaican anti-doping disciplinary panel.
CAS in May cut 18 months from a six-year ban imposed on Jamaican 400m runner Dominique Blake.
Earlier this year, CAS also dismissed a two-year ban imposed two-time Olympic 200m gold medalist Veronica Campbell-Brown.
GUGL GAMES
AP, LINZ, Austria
Justin Gatlin stretched his season’s unbeaten streak in the 100m to 10 races by trashing the 20-year-old best mark at the Gugl Games on Monday.
The 2012 Olympic bronze medalist finished in 9.82 seconds, scraping 0.12 seconds off the meeting record set by Davidson Ezinwa of Nigeria in 1994.
Gatlin’s run was the fastest ever in Austria, though he came 0.02 seconds short of his own best mark for the season after clocking 9.80 seconds at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland. His personal best is 9.79 seconds.
Gatlin finished runner-up to Usain Bolt at the world championships last year, but the Jamaican standout has not competed yet this season. Gatlin’s next appearance is at the Diamond League in Monaco on Friday.
Second-placed Mike Rodgers timed 9.92 seconds, while Ryan Bailey took third in 10.12 seconds for an American sweep of the podium.
In the women’s 100m, Carina Horn of South Africa and Carrie Russell of Jamaica shared victory in 11.21 seconds, but failed to threaten Marion Jones’ 16-year-old meeting record of 10.84 seconds.
Shalonda Solomon of US trailed by 0.04 seconds in third.
Mikel Thomas of Trinidad and Tobago took the 110 hurdles in 13.42 seconds, while indoor world champion Nia Ali of the US won the women’s race over 100m in 12.82 seconds.
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