Photo: © 2010 AFP /AAP/FRANCK FIFE

LaShawn Merritt picked up gold medals in the 400m sprint and the 4x400m relay at the Beijing Olympics, and is also the current world champion.

But he is likely to be remembered for the unusual way he came to fail a drug test, and his choice of words in explaining it.

"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."

Merritt insists he didn’t know ExtenZe, an over-the-counter herbal remedy for unsatisfactory endowment, contained the dehydroepiandrosterone steroid.

Merritt faces a two years suspension for what he calls a "foolish, immature and egotistical mistake".