Disgraced Olympic sprint champion Justin Gatlin will remain barred from major European races despite being invited to this weekend's Diamond League Athletics meeting in the United States.
Gatlin, who won the 100 metres gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics but was suspended for four years after a positive doping test in 2006, was cleared for his first major race since the ban when he was offered a spot in Sunday's Prefontaine Classic in Oregon.
But the American's hopes of competing in Europe appear doomed after officials said they were not planning to change their stand against inviting athletes who had served long doping terms.
Gatlin tested positive for the banned male sex hormone testosterone in 2006, but has consistently denied knowingly taking banned substancs.
He is eligible to compete under both international and U.S. athletics rules but has run only in low key meetings since his ban expired last July.
New Zealand's Olympic silver medalist Nick Willis will run the mile at the same meeting.
