LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The Court of Arbitration for Sport has completed an eight-hour hearing into the validity of the IOC’s so-called “six-month rule,” which bars American sprinter LaShawn Merritt from the 2012 London Games.
The CAS says its panel should deliver a verdict on the United States Olympic Committee’s challenge “on or before Sept. 30.”
The IOC rule took effect in 2008 and prevents athletes who receive doping bans of more than six months from competing at the next Summer or Winter Games. The USOC believes that is a second penalty for a single offense.
CAS says the three-man panel was chaired by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren. It included Michele Bernasconi of Switzerland and American Arbitration Association director David Rivkin.
