LONDON — A sports arbitration panel is preparing to issue a ruling whose impact will be felt far beyond its legal chambers in Switzerland.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport will deliver a verdict next week on a cornerstone of the IOC’s anti-doping policy, and the decision will determine whether American LaShawn Merritt can defend his 400-meter title at next year’s London Games and could lead to challenges of drug bans in other countries.
At issue is the International Olympic Committee’s rule that bars any athlete who has received a doping suspension of more than six months from competing in the next summer or winter games.
The case centers on Merritt, the Olympic 400 champion who is ineligible to compete in London even though he completed his doping ban this year.
The U.S. Olympic Committee challenged the IOC rule, contending it amounts to a second penalty for a single offense and violates global anti-doping guidelines. The IOC maintains it’s a question of eligibility, not a sanction, and the Olympic body has the right to decide who takes part in its events.
“I’ve always said that (the rule) would stay until somebody proves that it was bad law,” IOC executive board member Craig Reedie of Britain said. “We’re now going to be told whether it’s good law or bad law.”
The USOC and IOC agreed to go to CAS, the sports world’s highest court, to seek a ruling well ahead of the London Games to avoid last-minute confusion before the Olympics start July 27, 2012.
An eight-hour hearing was held in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Aug. 17. CAS initially planned to issue a ruling by the end of this week, but now says it will release its finding Thursday. While officials won’t say it publicly, the IOC is bracing for defeat.
If CAS throws out the rule, Merritt will become eligible to compete, as will other athletes around the world who have been affected by the provision. A verdict against the IOC also would open the door for athletes in Britain, the Olympic host nation, to challenge a British Olympic Association rule that bans drug offenders for life from the games.
“I don’t think the judgment on the Merritt case instantly affects the BOA bylaw, but it will put it under scrutiny,” Reedie said.
Among those affected by the British ban are sprinter Dwain Chambers, a former European 100-meter champion who served a two-year ban in the BALCO scandal, and cyclist David Millar, who also was suspended for two years for use of EPO.
Merritt, winner of the 400 meters in Beijing and world champion in 2009, received a 21-month suspension last year after testing positive for a banned substance found in a male-enhancement product.
His penalty was reduced from the usual two-year suspension because he cooperated with authorities and was found to not have taken the drug to enhance athletic performance.
Merritt’s ban expired in July.
