The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and IOC have agreed to let the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decide whether the controversial eligibility rule that is set to keep defending Olympic 400 metres champion LaShawn Merritt out of next year's Games in London should be upheld.

The CAS has been asked to determine the validity of IOC Rule 45, which bars any athlete receiving a doping sanction of greater than six months from competing at the next Olympic Games but Fredricks, a member of the IOC's ruling Executive, believes the lifetime ban should remain in place.

"I like the British Olympic Association (BOA) rule which states that if you test positive drugs you are banned from the Olympics for life," the Namibian told insidethegames.

Fredericks won a total of four Olympic silver medals at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, including finishing second in the 100 metres at Barcelona when he was beaten by Britain's Linford Christie (pictured), who was later suspended for two years after testing positive for banned anabolic steroids.


"If somebody wins an Olympic medal, you want to know that it is clean and that it can never be taken away and obviously that is not the case where drug cheats are concerned," said Fredericks.

"There are obviously some people out there that think you can be fully rehabilitated after a two-year drug ban but I am not convinced.

"I think a life time ban is the right incentive to stop drug cheats, to keep them out of the sport and to give more credibility to being an Olympic champion."

The controversial lifetime ban rule was adopted in 2008 but has been criticised as creating a second penalty for athletes who have served their doping suspension.

The IOC has maintained the rule is not a sanction but an issue of eligibility and that it has the right to put conditions on participation in the Olympics.

The IOC have stated that the CAS ruling will be widely accepted meaning that sprinter Dwain Chambers could challenge the BOA's by-law 25 which prevents any athlete with a doping ban from representing Team GB at the Olympics.

The BOA have stated that they will keep their lifetime ban for drugs cheats regardless of the ruling but things will become far easier for Merrit if the USOC appeal to CAs is successful.

Merritt received a 21-month suspension after testing positive in 2009 and 2010 for a banned substance he claimed was found in a male enhancement product.

His ban ends in July but under the IOC rule he would be ineligible to compete in London.

A US panel of arbitrators who suspended Merritt said the rule could not be used to prevent him from competing at London 2012.

Merritt also hopes to defend his World Championship title later this year in Daegu, South Korea, but will need a change in US policy to do so as current eligibility standards for the American team require an athlete to participate in the World Championship trials but Merritt's ban will not expire before the June trials.

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