Sports court backs life ban for Jamaica's Mullings

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) - Sport's highest appeals court has upheld the lifetime doping ban for Jamaican sprinter and former world relay champion Steve Mullings.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport says it dismissed the 30-year-old runner's appeal of the ban imposed by the Jamaican Anti-Doping Commission in November 2011 after his second drug offense.

Mullings tested positive for furosemide, a banned diuretic and masking agent, at the national trials leading to the 2011 world championships. Mullings had served a two-year ban after testing positive for methyltestosterone in 2004.

Mullings won gold in the 4x100-meter relay with Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell at the 2009 worlds.

CAS says its panel rejected the athlete's claims that his 2011 test was "unreliable'' and there were "problems'' with the 2004 result.