Mr. Justin Gatlin is a 19-year-old college student who attends the University of Tennessee on a track scholarship. Mr. Gatlin has a medical condition known as attention deficit disorder ("ADD"). He was first diagnosted with this condition when he was nine years old and he has been taking prescribed medication for this condition ever since.
On June 16 and 17, 2001, Mr. Gatlin was drug tested by USADA at het USA Track and Field ("USATF") Junior National Championships. His urine samples were declared positive by the IOC-accredited laboratory at the University of California at Los Angeles ("UCLA Laboratory") for the stimulant amphetamine. Amphetamine is a substance prohibited during competition under the International Association of Athletics Federation "(IAAF") rules, which were applicable tot the USATF competition. USADA notified Mr. Gatlin of his positive "A" sample on July 12, 2001. The UCLA Laboratory reported Mr. Gatlin's "B" sample positive on July 23, 2001.
Mr. Gatlin does not contest the integrity of the sample collection process, the transport, or laboratory chain of custody, of his samples. Mr. Gatlin further does not contest any aspect of the laboratory analysis, including the findings of amphetamine in his samples.
Mr. Gatlin stopped taking his medication several days before his first in-competition test. At the time Mr. Gatlin was enrolled in summer school.
Mr. Gatlin took his prescription medicine to study for mid-terms. He did not want to have the medication in his system at the time of the competition because it makes him feel ' sluggish' and unable to run as well. Mr. Gatlin did not take his medication for three days prior to the competiton. He did not feel the effects of his medicine and believed that it had cleared his system. He was nevertheless unaware that there was still the possibility that dectectable amounts of the medicine could exist in his urine.
The North American Court of Arbitration for Sport Panel determines that Mr. Gatlin has served a period of suspension prior to this Panel's declaration of ineligibility in accordance with IAAF Rule 60(2)(a) and should have credit against his two-year suspension for the period from July 12, 2001, the date Mr. Gatlin was notified of his positive"A" sample result and subsequently informed USATF that he was withdrawing from competition, until the date of this Panel's decision. Thus, Mr. Gatlin's two-years suspension will commence on the date of this Order, May 1, 2002, and conclude on July 11, 2003. Consistent with IAAF rules, Mr. Gatlin shall forfeit all competitive results which he achieved at the 2001 USATF Junior National Championships.
The Panel is very concerned that Mr. Gatlin's reputation not be unneccessarily tarnished as a result of this decision. Anti-doping rules are like other sporting rules in that sometimes there are adverse consequences even when an athlete is not at fault. The Panel specifically notes that, in this case, Mr. Gatlin neither cheated nor did he intend to cheat. He did not intend to enhance his performance nor, given his medical condition, did his medication in fact enhance his performance. At most, his mistake was in not raising his medical condition for a review with the appropriate authorities before the race, instead of after it. The Panel requires that hist fact be made clear in any public release describing or relating to this decision.
