"Unfair and unjust" says Powell

Asafa Powell has described the decison to suspend him from competing for 18 months, as "unfair and unjust".

In a release on Thursday, Powell, the third fastest man in history said his legal team has begun preparations for an appeal.

Powell was slapped with the suspension after testing positive for the banned stimulant, Oxilofrine, last June.

The ban for the former two-time World 100m bronze medalist will run from June 21, 2013, when he provided the positive sample, to December 20, 2014. 

Powell, who holds the world record for the most wind-legal sub-10 clockings, with 81, had testified in January that Canadian physical trainer Chris Xureb provided him with nine supplements, including Epiphany D1.

His legal team had presented three different laboratory reports that Epiphany D1 contained the stimulant Oxilofrine. However, the two-time 100m World Championship bronze medalist told the hearing that he had failed to list them because he could not remember their names.

Xureb denied providing them performance-enhancing drugs and said the sprinters should take responsibility for their failed dope tests.

Powell's sanction comes two days after his former training partner Sherone Simpson received an 18-month suspension from the same panel for the same substance.

Another Jamaican, Olympic Discus Thrower Allison Randall, was also handed a two-year ban on Tuesday, for using the prohibited diuretic Hydrochlorothiazide.