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Lewis backs lifetime bans for drug cheats

Asafa Powell has vowed to clear his name after testing positive for a banned stimulant © Getty Images

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Former Olympic heptathlon champion Denise Lewis and anti-doping consultant Michele Verroken have expressed their support for lifetime bans for proven drug cheats and called on the World Anti-Doping Agency to clarify their rules in the wake of the latest doping scandal to hit athletics.

With the IAAF World Championships in Moscow less than a month away, both Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell, the two fastest men over 100m in 2013, have tested positive for performance-enhancing substances.

American Gay, who ran a world-leading 9.75sec earlier this season, failed an out-of-competition test in May, while former world record-holder Powell tested positive for a banned stimulant, becoming the 12th Jamaican athlete to face a doping ban since 2008.

Gay has confirmed he will not travel to Russia, while Powell, who missed out on a place in the Jamaican squad for the 100m, was thought to be in contention for the 400m relay squad. Both are yet to have their B samples tested.

And while Lewis admitted that having two of the sport's highest-profile stars facing doping bans reflected badly on the sport, she called on WADA to step up its efforts to prevent accidental doping transgressions.

"It's tough to swallow right now but let's put it into context," Lewis told Sky Sports News. "Athletics is not the only sport that has this problem. There are several sports out there that have had competitors caught out taking drugs.

"WADA and the organistaion that looks after doping control need to make the list of banned substances a little bit clearer. Maybe there should be a list of certain supplements that the athletes are cleared to take. That may be the solution.

"For those that have genuinely made a mistake then there might have to be some leniency but, for me personally, when you a cheating your number should be up. There is no place in our sport for you."

Verroken, the former director of ethics and anti-doping at UK Sport and founder of Sporting Integrity, echoed Lewis's sentiments.

"I think if we do have people that are deliberately cheating in order to enhance their performance than let's be absolutely clear as to whether or not these substances are performance enhancing," she said.

"Certainly a stimulant would fall into that category and then a life-time ban has got to be the answer. Yet we are still seeing some athletes who have previously failed a test, served a sanction then returning to the sport.

"I think that that sends a very bad mesaage to athletes who want to compete drug-free."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd