Justin Gatlin, the suspended American sprinter, has agreed to settle with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), USA Track and Field (USATF) as well as the International Associations of Athletic Federations (IAAF) in a civil lawsuit claiming the four groups discriminated against him based on the Americans for Disabilities Act, Universal Sports had reported.

The 2004 Olympic Gold medalist in the 100m and 2005 World Champion for 100m and 200m is serving a four year suspension for testing positive for testosterone last 2006.According to court documents, Gatlin has agreed to a settlement on Feb 9 in the US District Court of Northern Florida, however, the terms of the settlement were not yet disclosed. Justin Gatlin and attorney Joe Zarzaur had refused to comment about the settlement’s specifics. The two organizations – USADA and USATF also refused to comment, and the other two – USOC and IAAF had not immediately responded to a request for comments. Finalization of the settlement is expected to be done within the week.

Currently, Gatlin is living in Atlanta, Georgia and is working as a fitness instructor and entrepreneur while continuously training. Gatlin stated his plans to return to international competition in July 2010 after his suspension ends, yet the settlement is still unclear if the athlete admitted any guilt. John Collins, the attorney who has represented Gatlin and other athletes against doping charges said that the settlement has nothing to do with the settlement of the case. He also added that you have to figure if the settlement is greater than the attorney’s fees – then there could ne some admission of guilt, then they are settling for a nuisance value. The US Sprinter had filed a civil suit against the four groups last June 9, 2008, claiming that the groups had discriminated him for his disability – Attention Deficit Disorder. Gatlin had also tested positive for amphetamines on test taken last June 16 and 17, 2006 during the US Junior National Championships.

According to Gatlin, the drug Adderall which he had been taking for his disorder was actually the source of the amphetamines. He also said that there had been no forms to complete at the junior national meet for him to declare that he was in fact taking the medications. Justin Gatlin had already served one year of his two-year suspension for the offense after the IAAF declared that the appeal of Gatlin had genuine medical explanation which is his ADD which resulted to him having positive tests. However, the first positive test is still considered as his first drug offense, and after his second time to test positive in 2006, he was then given the mandatory lifetime ban for two drug violations. The sanction was reduced to eight years in connection with the plea that involved Gatlin agreeing to work with anti-doping investigators.

The athlete had lost an appeal in 2007 to reduce his 8-year ban to two years and was given a four year suspension. The decision of the US Appeals panel which was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sports had forced Gatlin to miss the 2008 US Olympic trials.

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