ATLANTA - Banned Olympic 100 metres champion Justin Gatlin stepped up his bid to compete in this week's US trials for the Beijing Games by requesting an emergency injunction on Wednesday.
One day after a federal judge in Pensacola, Florida, blocked his initial bid, Gatlin's legal team filed appeal motions to the 11th Circuit US Court of Appeals in Atlanta and the federal district court in Pensacola.
The 26-year-old sprinter hopes to be allowed to compete in the US athletics trials in Eugene, Oregon starting on Friday, with the 100m races scheduled for Saturday.
"Mr. Gatlin points out that if he is allowed to participate but does not qualify due to his performance, then the issue of his participation in the 2008 Olympics becomes moot and nobody will have suffered any prejudice," his attorneys said in the motion.
"On the other hand, if he does qualify but ultimately loses the appeal, the USOC (United States Olympic Committee) will have the full authority under the ASA (Amateur Sports Act) to determine his replacement at the Olympics.
"Gatlin is not asking this Court to put him on the United States Olympic team. He is simply seeking to preserve his ability to have the USOC place him on the team if prevails during the qualification trials this weekend."
Officials at the 11th Circuit in Atlanta told Reuters on Wednesday a swift decision could be made on the motion, likely early on Thursday, with a three-judge panel standing by.
On Tuesday, Judge Lacey Collier dissolved a 10-day restraining order which would have allowed Gatlin to take part in the US Olympic trials. He also denied Gatlin's request for a preliminary injunction.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
After Judge Collier issued his ruling, Gatlin's attorney Joseph Zarzaur said he hoped to present additional information which would give the 11th Circuit the ability to find jurisdiction.
"It's just highlighting, if you will, information that went before the court but was not argued as aggressively as we expect to argue in the motion," Zarzaur told Reuters.
Collier ruled that determining American participation in the Olympic Games was the "exclusive jurisdiction" of the USOC, not the courts.
He said Gatlin, who suffers from Attention Deficit Disorder, had been wronged in the process that resulted in his suspension, adding, however, that the court had no power to right the wrong.
Gatlin was suspended for four years after a 2006 positive test for the male sex hormone testosterone.
The violation was ruled his second doping offence because the sprinter had also tested positive in 2001 for amphetamines that were part of a medication to treat Attention Deficit Disorder.
