American sprinter Dennis Mitchell has always been popular on the European athletics circuit, but he's been greeted this season with the sound of people sniggering behind their hands. When he appeared at the Hengelo Grand Prix last weekend, Mitchell realised he'd lost a bit of that honour. "I've gone from one of the most respected in the sport," he said, "to one who is just ridiculed."

Mitchell escaped a two-year ban from the US athletics federation in April by claiming that high levels of testosterone in his system were the result of having sex four times with his wife and drinking six bottles of beer the night before a random drugs test. This excuse soon became the laughing stock of the circuit and the BBC's They Think It's All Over also made a huge joke out of it in their section on bizarre sporting excuses.

It will be no laughing matter, however, when the Olympic 100 metres bronze medallist appears before the IAAF arbitration panel on July 24th to decide his ultimate fate. Allegedly, Mitchell told the US federation that "it was his wife's birthday, and she deserved a treat".

Well, anybody fancy his chances?