Former world champ Mullings found guilty of doping

Kingston, Jamaica: Former world champion Steve Mullings was found guilty of a doping offence on Thursday that could land the Jamaican sprinter a lifetime ban from athletics. Mullings, 28, who will learn his penalty on 21 November, was found guilty by a three-member Jamaica Anti-Doping Disciplinary panel for using the banned diuretic furosemide, which could serve as a possible masking agent for other drugs. [caption id=“attachment_134108” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Former world champion Steve Mullings was found guilty of a doping offence on Thursday that could land the Jamaican sprinter a lifetime ban from athletics. Andy Lyons/Getty Images”]  [/caption] “It is a unanimous verdict that Mr Mullings is guilty of having furosemide in both his ‘A’ and ‘B’ samples,” Lennox Gayle, who chaired the disciplinary panel, told Reuters. A stay of execution was granted while the panel awaits correspondence the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) in regards to Mullings’ previous two-year ban in 2004 for excessive levels of testosterone. Mullings’ lead attorney Alando Terrelonge said he is grateful the disciplinary panel decided to delay handing down its sentence until next week. “The document that we are awaiting from the JAAA is very important because it is based on the contents of that document, that we can make (final) submissions,” he told Reuters. Mullings, who won gold in the 4x100 relay team at Berlin in 2009, tested positive for the substance after placing third in the 100 metres final of the Jamaican national trials in June. Reuters