Gatlin wait nearly over

Cameron Myler, Gatlin's attorney, said: "We are expecting that USADA will make its recommendation by mid next week."

Gatlin announced last month he had tested positive for the male sex hormone testosterone at a meeting in Kansas in April.

The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) has called for a life ban for Gatlin because this would be his second doping offence.

A USADA doping review panel has studied his case, and USADA will now decide what charges and sanctions it may bring against Gatlin.

If Gatlin is charged, as expected, he will have two choices. The joint 100 metres world record holder can either accept the sanction or challenge it and the charges through a lengthy arbitration process.

Gatlin was banned for two years in 2001 after testing positive for an amphetamine but was reinstated early by the IAAF, who accepted the result was due to medication prescribed to treat an attention deficit disorder.

The 24-year-old American has said he did not know how the positive test for testosterone occurred and that he had never knowingly used any banned substance.

He has not spoken publicly about the case.