Olympic champ Merritt banned for using sex drug

USA Track & Field CEO Doug Logan said in a release he was “disgusted by this entire episode.”

“He has now put his entire career under a cloud and in the process made himself the object of jokes,” Logan said. “In this day and age,a professional athlete should know better.”

Merritt was recently notified that the presence of DHEA was the cause of his positive test. DHEA is short for dehydroepiandrosterone,which is a steroids precursor banned by the US Anti-Doping Agency.

The product that Merritt took is called “ExtenZe”. It’s a product that promises male sexual enhancement.

‘Embarrassment,humiliation’

“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,” Merritt said in the release. “Any penalty that I may receive for my action will not overshadow the embarrassment and humiliation that I feel inside.”

Over the years,Merritt has developed a robust rivalry with 2004 Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner,one of the best in track since no one can touch Usain Bolt in the 100 and 200. Merritt held off Wariner for the gold in Beijing. Then,last summer at the world championships in Berlin,Merritt topped Wariner again,flying past him on the final curve.

The latest news ends a period of relative quiet on the doping front in track. High-profile doping convictions in recent years have resulted in stripped results and suspensions for Marion Jones,Tim Montgomery and Justin Gatlin,among others.