| 
			 The global agency said the ban, which has been widely criticized 
			in Europe as too lenient, was "compatible with the World Anti-Doping 
			Code." 
 Gay, the world's joint second fastest man, last month had accepted 
			the one-year suspension by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after 
			a 2013 positive test for an anabolic steroid.
 
 The ban was backdated to June 23, 2013, making the U.S. 100 metres 
			record holder eligible to return to running later this month. His 
			first race will be a 100 metres at Lausanne's Diamond League meeting 
			on July 3, organizers said on Monday.
 
 Normally athletes receive a two-year suspension for their first 
			major doping offense but under anti-doping rules the ban can be 
			reduced for substantial cooperation.
 
 The U.S. agency said Gay was eligible for such a reduction because 
			the sprinter offered what it termed substantial assistance in his 
			case.
 
			
			 On Tuesday, WADA said it was satisfied with the decision.
 "After careful review and scrutiny of the full case file, WADA is 
			satisfied that Mr. Tyson Gay provided substantial assistance to 
			USADA in an appropriate fashion," the global agency said in a 
			statement to Reuters.
 
 "WADA will therefore not appeal USDA's decision which is compatible 
			with the World Anti-Doping Code."
 
 Officials of the International Association of Athletics Federations 
			(IAAF), which also can appeal the U.S. decision, declined comment, 
			saying the matter remains in the hands of its doping review board to 
			assess.
 
 IAAF president Lamine Diack, however, told Reuters last month he 
			supported the World Anti-Doping Code rule that allows athletes to 
			receive reduced sentences if they provide substantial assistance to 
			anti-doping agencies.
 
            [to top of second column] | 
      
		 
			"In the fight against doping we have to use this," Diack said in an 
			interview at the inaugural IAAF World Relays in the Bahamas. "If 
			someone gave really very good cooperation and give us the 
			possibility to do more to fight doping, we have to do something."
 In addition to the ban, Gay has returned the silver medal he won as 
			a member of the U.S. 4x100 metres relay team at the 2012 London 
			Olympics.
 
 His former coach Jon Drummond has filed a defamation lawsuit against 
			the sprinter, USADA and USADA chief Travis Tygart, claiming Drummond 
			was falsely accused of supplying Gay with performance-enhancing 
			drugs.
 
 USADA called the lawsuit "baseless."
 
 (Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; Editing by 
			Frank Pingue)
 
			[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights 
			reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, 
			broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 
			
			 |