April 4, 2000 6:01 AM Reuters

BERLIN, April 4 (Reuters) - A final decision on the case of former Olympic champion Dieter Baumann, facing a two-year ban for testing positive for nandrolone, will not be taken before the end of this month, the weekly Leichtathletik reported on Tuesday.

The legal committee of the German Athletics Federation (DLV) still has to study evidence and will reach a verdict at the end of April at the earliest, the official publication of the DLV wrote.

Baumann, 5,000 metres gold medallist at the 1992 Barcelona Games, was suspended last November after two random tests showed he had levels of the banned anabolic substance 10 times over the accepted limit.

The German athlete denied any wrongdoing and filed legal proceedings against unknown parties after the drug was found in his toothpaste, claiming it must have been injected maliciously.

Under DLV rules, the automatic sanction for doping through anabolics such as nandrolone is a two-year ban.

The DLV's executive has recommended a two-year suspension but the legal committee, which has already heard Baumann, has the final word.

COPYRIGHT © 2000 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.