Judge grants temporary restraining order for Gatlin

[June 21, 2008]  ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) -- Banned sprinter Justin Gatlin finally won a round in his bid to defend his 100-meter title at the Beijing Olympics.

His chances of ultimate success, though, still faced significant, perhaps insurmountable, obstacles.

A Florida federal judge ruled Friday that Gatlin should be allowed to compete at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials, which begin June 27 in Eugene, Ore.

U.S. District Judge Lacey A. Collier's temporary restraining order is in effect for 10 days at present. The first two rounds of the 100-meter qualifying are set for June 28. The semifinals and finals are the following day.

Joe Zarzaur, Gatlin's third attorney in his dogged attempts at reinstatement, said his client is "guardedly, cautiously optimistic" but added the judge could change the decision.

A Monday hearing in Pensacola has been set to discuss the order, and Gatlin is expected to attend.

Any U.S. court ruling might not be enforceable anyway because the International Association of Athletics Federations, which oversees the sport, and the International Olympic Committee, are not based in the United States.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Gatlin has already exhausted his agreed-to appeals process.

"Mr. Gatlin's defenses to his steroid doping violation have already been fully considered and rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport which he agreed has exclusive jurisdiction over this matter," USADA spokeswoman Erin Hannan said in a statement. "We appreciate having our first opportunity to provide this court with the facts as to why that arbitration decision was in the best interest of clean athletes."

The U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Track & Field said their representatives would be in court Monday for the hearing.

Two weeks ago, the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a four-year doping ban against the former world 100- and 200-meter champion. Gatlin asked CAS to rescind the 2001 doping violation - his first of two - which he had hoped would reduce his penalty to a two-year ban, allowing him to compete at trials. Gatlin's second doping offense stems from a positive test at the Kansas Relays in 2006.

Friday's order, like Gatlin's appeal to CAS, centers on the 26-year-old's first doping offense - a positive test for amphetamines at the 2001 junior nationals. The substance was part of medication Gatlin was taking for attention deficit disorder.

Gatlin received a two-year suspension but was reinstated after one year.

Now he wants that offense erased, contending the punishment violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. Collier made it clear she agreed and that only a maze of international sports bureaucracy clouded the issue.

"In the midst of this intractable situation, it is abundantly clear that, if anyone were to actually deal with the facts of this case head-on, they would readily conclude, formally, that plaintiff was not at fault for the first violation, and would as a consequence end his suspension immediately," the judge wrote.

The sprinter's mother, Jeanette Gatlin, says "we're joyful. That's all I can say."

Gatlin, who insists he never knowingly took performance-enhancing drugs, has not competed since winning the 100 meters at the U.S. championships in June 2006, a title that has since been taken away.

If allowed to run at the trials, Gatlin would have to finish in the top three of his event to make the U.S. Olympic team.

The contention that Gatlin's first doping ban violated the ADA was raised by a member of the U.S. arbitration panel that reduced his original doping ban from eight years to four in January. Christopher L. Campbell, in a dissenting opinion, called it "blatant discrimination."

If Gatlin's suspension stands, the Florida judge wrote, "the country, indeed the world, would be wrongfully excluded from watching one of its great athletes perform."

When CAS rejected Gatlin's appeal, CAS secretary general Matthieu Reeb said the only legal option he knew of for the sprinter was to go before the Swiss Federal Tribunal, an appeal provided by Swiss law because CAS is based in Switzerland.

The U.S. Olympic Committee agreed.

"We view this as an anti-doping matter and believe the appropriate forum for adjudication and resolution is through the American Arbitration Association or the International Court of Arbitration for Sport," USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel said at the time.

Also at issue is when Gatlin's suspension took effect. CAS changed the start of Gatlin's ban to July 25, 2006 - the day he voluntarily accepted his provisional suspension - instead of May 25, 2006. So he wouldn't have been reinstated before the trials even if his ban had been reduced from four years to two.

In most cases, a suspension dates from the time an athlete tests positive, and Collier suspected something fishy about the decision to change it.

"As far as appearances go, the decision seems suspiciously designed to moot the very sort of legal action that plaintiff raises in this action," the judge wrote.

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Associated Press Writer Sarah Larimer in Miami contributed to this report.

[Associated Press; By BOB BAUM]

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