Gatlin could be banned for life

New York: World and Olympic 100 metres champion Justin Gatlin said on Saturday he had failed a drugs test after a relay race in Kansas City in April.

"I have been informed by the United States Anti-doping Agency that after a relay race I ran in Kansas City on April 22, I tested positive for 'testosterone or its precursors'," Gatlin said in a statement.

"I cannot account for these results, because I have never knowingly used any banned substance or authorised anyone else to administer such a substance to me.

"Since learning of the positive test, I have been doing everything in my power to find out what caused this to happen.

"I have been and will continue to cooperate fully with USADA as it moves forward with the process it has initiated and hope that when all the facts are revealed it will be determined that I have done nothing wrong."

Gatlin, who is also the joint 100 metres world record holder with Jamaica's Asafa Powell, had previously tested positive for an amphetamine at the 2001 US junior championships.

It was contained in prescription medication he had taken for 10 years to treat a form of attention deficit disorder.

"That experience made me even more vigilant to make certain that I (do) not come into contact with any banned substance for any reason whatsoever, because any additional anti-doping rule offence could mean a lifetime ban from the sport that I love," Gatlin added in his statement on Saturday.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) gave him early reinstatement from a two-year ban in July 2002 but said a second violation would lead to a life ban.

"Since the positive test at the University of Tennessee, I have been involved with efforts to educate people about the dangers of using drugs and would never do anything to disappoint my fans and supporters," said Gatlin.

"It is simply not consistent with either my character or my confidence in my God-given athletic ability to cheat in any way."