12 August,2016 08:22 AM IST | | AFP
Drug-tainted sprinter Justin Gatlin is eligible for the Rio Olympics and deserves the same treatment as any other competitor, world athletics chief Sebastian Coe said on Wednesday
Justin Gatlin
Rio de Janeiro: Drug-tainted sprinter Justin Gatlin is eligible for the Rio Olympics and deserves the same treatment as any other competitor, world athletics chief Sebastian Coe said on Wednesday.
Justin Gatlin
Coe, president of the International Association of Athletics Federations, last year said the prospect of America's Gatlin beating Usain Bolt made him feel "queasy". Coe, speaking ahead of the Rio Olympics track and field competition, said he was a supporter of life bans for drug cheats but added that Gatlin was within the current rules. "Gatlin is eligible to compete. Yes, I would like to see life bans but that's not been possible," Coe told reporters in Rio.
"I can't change my view on (Gatlin) but he's eligible to compete and he should be accorded the same courtesy as any athlete who is within these rules is accorded," he added. Gatlin, 34, who will challenge defending 100m and 200m champion Bolt in Rio, has served two doping bans in his career.
