JAMAICAN sprinter Steve Mullings has expressed his disappointment at Monday’s life ban handed down by the disciplinary committee of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCo).

Two days after the sentence was announced, Mullings, who turns 29 on Monday, made his first — and what he said would be his last — statement on the matter.

“I’m extremely disappointed in the decision made by the panel on Monday afternoon,” he said in an email to the Observer.

As he had indicated earlier, Mullings hinted that this would not be the end of the matter, and while he did not say what the next move would be, went on to say, “At this point, myself, along with my attorneys, are focusing our time and energy on proving my innocence to the world. I’m unable to comment any further on this matter.”

Two weeks ago, Mullings, who tested positive for the banned diuretic, furosemide, which experts say can be used as a masking agent for the presence of performance enhancing drugs, had indicated that if the decision did not go in his favour, he would be taking his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).

Mullings, who is the 20th Jamaica athlete to have tested positive for a banned substance, returned a positive sample after he placed third in the 100m final at the Jamaican National Trials on June 24 this year.

He went on to win the 200m, but was not included in the Jamaican team that took part in the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea in late August to September.

He was replaced on the team by Nesta Carter, who was a finalist in the 100m, and Marvin Anderson in the 200m.

The hearings, which started back in August, were presided over by a three-man panel of attorney-at-law Lennox Gayle, who was the chairman, football administrator Peter Prendergast and Dr Japheth Ford.

This was the second time the central Florida-based sprinter had failed a drug test after he was banned for two years in 2004 when he tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone while competing at the National Trials.

Meanwhile, while saying he was not at liberty to comment on the upcoming season, Mullings confirmed he had started early-season workouts and had been training by himself for about a month now.

Senior athletes who were preparing for the 2012 season started training between late October and early November.

Mullings, who has won two sprint relay medals, a silver in 2007 and gold in 2009, had an outstanding 2011 season, running a personal best 9.80 seconds while winning the 100m at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon on June 4, making him the sixth fastest man of all time.

His time was also the fourth fastest of the year, behind only world record-holder Usain Bolt, 9.76 seconds, Asafa Powell, 9.78, and his American training partner Tyson Gay, 9.79.

The former Vere Technical, Barton County and Mississippi State sprinter clocked seven sub-10 seconds times in 2011.