Myricks’ Suspension Cut From Lifetime to One Year

After being informed Tuesday that the executive committee of The Athletics Congress had commuted his lifetime suspension to a one-year ban, long jumper Larry Myricks responded with disappointment rather than relief.

“We were hoping for the indoor season,” said Myricks, who was ranked No. 2 in the world last year. “We figured all along that they (had) intended to keep me out for (at least) a year.”

Myricks will be reinstated April 13, which will allow him to compete in the outdoor season but will bar him from the indoor season and the World Indoor Championships. Myricks, a four-time Olympian, is the two-time world indoor long jump champion.

During a period from Jan. 12 to Feb. 27, Myricks tested positive three times at indoor meets for phenylpropanolamine, a banned stimulant.

According to IAAF rules, with the third positive test an athlete is suspended for life.

Myricks, 34, has been ineligible to compete for the last nine months. He had appealed his suspension and had a handful of hearings. He had previously applied for reinstatement and was denied. The latest panel, which met last week, recommended that Myricks be reinstated. The executive committee of The Athletics Congress, which governs track and field in the United States, met Monday night in Seattle.

Myricks has maintained that he took Alka-Seltzer Plus to combat flu symptoms during the winter. The stimulant phenylpropanolamine is found in that medicine. Some athletes are believed to take the drug as a performance boost.

Myricks, who lives in Upland, said Tuesday he is dissatisfied with the entire procedure, which will keep him out of competition--his means of earning a living--for a year. He said that TAC’s strict drug-testing program still has “glitches.”

“My first reinstatement was denied, and they never told us why,” Myricks said. “I still think it went a lot longer than it had to. TAC wants to be tough and put its foot down and show that it has the biggest, baddest program.”

Asked if he felt any satisfaction with the reinstatement, Myricks again had mixed emotions: “The reinstatement is good, but the stigma will still be there.”