The number of the US Track and Field athletes involved in doping is increasing and has given the sport a bad reputation. In January, Crystal Cox was banned for two years for her admission that she took steroids during an Olympic competition. This also lead to the scrapping off her gold medals and has also prompted the IOC to conduct an investigation on the entire team.

This week’s headlines is another blow to the sport when anti-doping authorities revealed that another track athlete has failed 3 doping test for steroids. Olympian LaShawn Meritt was provisionally suspended by the US Anti-Doping Authority as a result of three successive failed tests conducted last year and January. The temporary ban was imposed by the USADA while still conducting their full investigation on the athlete. The 2009 dual Olympic gold medalist will most likely receive a 2 year ban for the offense. Meritt is the current 400 metres world champion. He got the gold medal in the Beijing Olympics and dethroned the defending champion Jeremy Wariner in the World Athletics Championships in Berlin last year. The 23 year-old athlete also helped the track and field relay team to win in both events.

The case of Meritt is an interesting one. Although he admitted that the positive result could be due to the over the counter supplement that he was taking but it was not intended to improve his performance in the field. Reports showed that Meritt used a sexual enhancement supplement called Extenze. The penis enlargement supplement contains pregnenolone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) which are both banned in professional sports.

Doug Logan of the US Track and Field was disappointed on what happened to Meritt. “He has now put his entire career under a cloud and in the process made himself the object of jokes. In this day and age, a professional athlete should know better… I am disgusted by this entire episode,” he said.

LaShawn Meritt already issued a statement on this issue. He apologized for this steroid issue against him. “To know that I’ve tested positive as a result of a product that I used for personal reasons is extremely difficult to wrap my hands around.” He also said that he would accept whatever penalty that will be imposed against him. “I hope my sponsors, family, friends and the sport itself will forgive me for making such a foolish, immature and egotistical mistake. Any penalty that I may receive for my action will not overshadow the embarrassment and humiliation that I feel inside,” said Meritt.

The track and field champion also warned his fellow athletes to be careful in taking any over-the-counter supplements to avoid what had happened to him. “I am deeply sorry and hope that other athletes who take these types of over-the-counter products will be even more cautious and read the fine print, because if it can happen to me, it could happen to you.”

It would be very difficult for Meritt to defend his failed test since the supplements’ main ingredients are pregnenolone and DHEA which are contained in its label. The athlete should have known that these are banned substances by USADA and the Olympics. This could also lead to the scrapping of his gold medals if he used the drug during the Beijing Olympics and the World championship.

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