Ben Efe
Olympic 400m champion, LaShawn Merrit has paid a huge price for his quest to have a bigger penis.  Traces of  anabolic steroids were found in Merrit’s samples and he faces a two-year ban after testing positive to illegal performance-enhancing drugs, contained in an over-the-counter penis enlargement product.

The 23-year-old American said: “To know that I’ve tested positive as a result of a product that I used for personal reasons is extremely difficult to wrap my hands around.

“I hope my sponsors, family, friends and the sport itself will forgive me for making such a foolish, immature and egotistical mistake.

“Any penalty that I may receive for my action will not overshadow the embarrassment and humiliation that I feel inside.

“I am deeply sorry and hope that other athletes who take these types of over-the-counter products will be even more cautious and read the fine print, because if it can happen to me, it could happen to you.”

Merrit won the Beijing 2008 Olympic gold and added the 2009 World Championships title last year in Berlin. He was also a member of the American 4x400m relay team who won gold at both events.

“He has now put his entire career under a cloud and in the process made himself the object of jokes,” said USA Track and Field chief executive Doug Logan, who added he was “disgusted by this entire episode”.