Powell to run in Paris pending CAS dope decision

Paris, June 25 (IANS) (IANS/CMC) Former world record holder in the 100 metres Asafa Powell plans to compete in France early next month, organizers of the Paris Diamond League have announced.

The Jamaican sprinter, on a temporary reprieve from a ban imposed in a doping case, will run on July 5, days before his doping hearing at sport's highest court, Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), reports CMC.

The field will also include Trinidad and Tobago's Richard Thompson, who is the fastest man in the world this year, along with five other sprinters who have run the race under 10 seconds.

Powell has appealed his 18-month suspension and will have his case heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on July 7 and 8.

Powell and Sherone Simpson, another Jamaican sprinter, received identical penalties following positive tests for the banned stimulant Oxilofrine.

Earlier this month, they appealed to the CAS to have their bans reduced to three months, and were given clearance to resume competing until the case is heard.