'Foolish' LaShawn Merritt begs for forgiveness

World and Olympic 400 metres champion LaShawn Merritt has asked for forgiveness for the "foolish, immature and egotistical mistake" he made in taking banned substances which led to three positive drugs tests.

Merritt today accepted a provisional suspension after admitting he had used an over-the-counter male enhancement product containing DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) and pregnenolone.

The 23-year-old, who won Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008 and the world title in Berlin 12 months later, tested positive on three successive occasions in October and December of last year and January 2010, and could now face a two-year ban.

In a statement issued on the athlete's behalf by his lawyer Howard Jacobs, Merritt's use of the product was described as "completely unrelated to athletics and occurred at a time that he was neither seriously training nor competing".

The statement read: "As an athlete and strong advocate of fair competition, I have worked very hard to push myself to the outer limits of my physical abilities without any performance enhancement drugs.

"I've always prided myself on doing what's right and will continue to do so.

"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.

"I hope my sponsors, family, friends and the sport itself will forgive me for making such a foolish, immature and egotistical mistake.

"Any penalty that I may receive for my action will not overshadow the embarrassment and humiliation that I feel inside.

"I am deeply sorry and hope that other athletes who take these types of over-the-counter products will be even more cautious and read the fine print, because if it can happen to me, it could happen to you."

Merritt's statement received little sympathy from the leader of American athletics' governing body.

USA Track and Field chief executive Doug Logan said: "We understand that Mr Merritt's case is still ongoing with the US Anti-Doping Agency and USATF awaits USADA's decision on the case.

"Any professional athlete in this sport knows that they are solely responsible for anything that goes into their bodies.

"For Mr Merritt to claim inadvertent use of a banned substance due to the ingestion of over-the-counter supplements brings shame to himself and his team-mates.

"Thanks to his selfish actions, he has done damage to our efforts to fight the plague of performance-enhancing drugs in our sport.

"Mr Merritt has been an integral part of Team USA and the sport in this country. He has now put his entire career under a cloud.

"Personally, I am disgusted by this entire episode."