Merritt hit with ban

Olympic 400metre champion LaShawn Merritt has been handed a 21-month ban for returning three positive drugs tests.

The 24-year-old, who failed the tests in October and December of last year and January of this year, will be eligible to compete again on 27 July 2011, meaning he will be free to defend his title at the London Olympics in 2012.

The suspension was backdated to 28 October 2009. Merritt, who also won the world 400m title in Berlin last year, had admitted using an over-the-counter male enhancement product containing DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) and pregnenolone.

The American Arbitration Association's ruling confirmed Merritt had demonstrated at his hearing his positive tests were as a result of taking a product, ExtenZe, which he brought at a convenience store, and that he did not take it to enhance his track performance.

The ruling read: "He wasn't training so he wasn't thinking about track. His mindset when purchasing the product was thinking about having sex with a woman.

"It never entered his mind that the product contained a steroid derivative. He admitted he did not look at the label."

Merritt was devastated when he found out what had caused his positive tests

The ruling added: "He testified that his heart sank. He thought how stupid he had been. Rather than hiding his fact Mr Merritt announced it to the world, recognising the humiliation that would soon follow, and immediately informed USADA."

Merritt's ban runs out a month before next year's World Championships get under way in Daegu, South Korea.

Merritt, who won individual and relay gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, accepted a provisional suspension in April. He could have been banned for up to two years.