Asafa Powell Banned From Sprinting. He Blames Coach. Kim Collins Tells Him To Man Up!

Former 100-meter world record holder Asafa Powell has been banned from sprinting for 18 months.

The 31-year-old sprinter tested positive for the banned stimulant oxilofrone at Jamaica's national trials last June. He's been suspended from competition since his doping case was disclosed in July.

A panel of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission announced their decision Thursday in Jamaica's capital.

Powell's ban begins from the date of his sample collection on June 21, 2013. That means he's eligible to return to competition on Dec. 20.

Like former teammate Sherone Simpson, Powell had placed the blame on a physiotherapist who supplied them with supplements. Earlier this week, Simpson was banned until Dec. 20.

Meanwhile, former 100m world champion Kim Collins. told the BBC that Asafa Powell cannot use ignorance as an excuse for his 18-month drug ban.

Collins commented; "If you say you trust people, and that's what happens, you're just as bad as them," Collins told BBC Sport, adding that cheats need to "man up".

Kim Collins, who runs for St Kitts/Nevis, said that it was wrong for Powell to put the blame on his coach.

He further went on to explain to BBC Sport that athletes who cheat should follow the example of British sprinter Dwain Chambers, who admitted he was to blame after testing positive for the designer drug tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) in August 2003, for which he received a two-year ban.

Collins said: "Whenever these tests come out, people have some really strange excuses. Very few people man up, and I think that's why Dwain ended up in so much trouble - for saying the truth.

"In track and field, when it comes to cheating, you do not tell the truth. You lie, lie, lie. And everybody says, 'Oh, he really didn't do it.' Come on, we all know.

"Man up. Man up. Man up. When I'm out there losing to you, or anyone else is losing to you, man up. If you're a woman, the same thing applies: man up.

"It's one of the ways you can go right, where you say, 'OK, I made this mistake. This was why I felt I needed to do it, but I'm telling you that it's not worth it. This is what I had, and this is all that I lost.'"

Collins was involved in a drug controversy after winning the Commonwealth Games 100m title in Manchester in 2002, when he tested positive for salbutamol.

However, he was allowed to keep his title as the substance was contained in medication he was using to treat asthma.

Collins said in a 2004 interview that he would be tempted to take performance-enhancing drugs to remain at the top of his sport.

But he argues now that any athlete succumbing to that temptation would be cheating young fans as well as the sport.

He said: "I think about the kids who look up to a lot of us, and they want to be like us. They think we are great.

"And it breaks their hearts when they find out that you're not really who you say you are, based on what is going on.

"I would say to any athlete who is cheating, 'Don't go to any kids, or to any school, and tell them to stay in school and say no to drugs if you're high while doing it.' That's not cool."