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Champion athlete Bailey backs call for life ban to all dope cheats

Sun 16 Mar, 02:06 AM


KINGSTON, Jamaica (AFP) - Donovan Bailey, a former 100-meter world record holder and Atlanta Olympics champion, wants to see a lifetime ban for all doping cheats.

The 40-year-old Canadian athletics hero, attending Jamaica's national high school athletics meet, agreed with local hero Asafa Powell, the current 100m world record-holder, about life bans to using performance-enhancing substances.

"I am someone that doesn't believe in it and at the end of the day, it takes away a lot of accomplishments from clean athletes," Bailey said.

"So, for me it's very simple. If you make the decision that you are going to dabble with drugs, then you're just bad. Find something else to do,".

Powell, who set the 100m world record of 9.74 seconds last year, has no mercy for those who test positive either.

"They are doing something illegal and when you do something illegal, you should be punished so I would say give them a life ban," Powell said.