Asafa Powell to plead his doping case to international arbitrators

Seeking to have his doping ban reduced, Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell was scheduled to have his day in court with international arbitrators on Monday.

Powell has asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to reduce his penalty from 18 months to three months.

“This ruling is not only unfair, it is patently unjust,” he wrote on his website.

A drug test found the stimulant oxilofrine in his system. He claims that it came from a legal supplement that had been contaminated.

Fellow sprinter Sherone Simpson had a similar test result and is also appealing.

CAS has given both athletes temporary permission to begin competing again, but Powell recently pulled out of his national championships and a Paris meet with various ailments.

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