Olympic ban for Harrison

Calvin Harrison today became the latest American athlete to be ruled out of the Athens Olympics for taking drugs.

The sprinter, a gold medal winner with the United States 400 metres relay team in Sydney four years ago and a potential member on this year's squad, has been banned for two years for a second doping violation.

According to a release from the US Anti-Doping Agency, Harrison tested positive for the prohibited stimulant modafinil at the 2003 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Stanford, California in June 2003.

The 30-year-old begins his suspension from all sanctioned competition immediately, after an arbitration panel rejected his appeal on 26 July.

Harrison's first offense also involved a prohibited stimulant and occurred at the 1993 US Junior National Championships. As a two-time offender he was hit with an automatic two-year suspension.

In addition to being ruled ineligible for the Athens Olympics, he forfeits all winnings from the date of his positive test last year and could be forced to hand back his gold medal from the 2003 World Champiosnhips in Paris.

Modafinil is a central nervous system stimulant that was prohibited at the time of the test because it is related to the classes of substances banned under IAAF rules.