Merritt eyes domination after ban

By Matt Slater BBC sports news reporter

Olympic 400m champion LaShawn Merritt is determined to put the controversy of his doping ban behind him and show the world his "dominance" at London 2012.

The American failed a drugs test in 2009, making him the first big name to fall foul of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) "next Games" ban.

But Merritt overturned the ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).

"I didn't do anything wrong, I didn't intentionally do anything to cheat," said Merritt.

"I had something in my system, out of competition, that had nothing to do with track and field. I knew I was a great athlete and that when I was able to run again that wouldn't change."

Merritt, who dominated 400m running between 2008 and 2009, tested positive for a banned substance contained in an over-the-counter penis enlargement product.

As embarrassing as this was, it was nothing compared to the threat posed to his career.

Determined to protect the Olympic brand from growing cynicism about the prevalence of doping, the IOC imposed a tougher penalty for drugs cheats in 2008.

Rule 45 meant any athlete given a ban of six months or longer would also be barred from the next Olympics. This attracted little comment until Merritt's case started to work its way through the tribunal system.

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Merritt eyes domination after ban