AUCKLAND Triple Commonwealth Games medal winner Simon Poelman plans to fight his drug conviction and life ban from athletics, the Sunday Star-Times reported. The decathlete was sentenced to five-and-a-half years jail Friday for importing what the Customs Department said was the second largest haul of ecstasy seized in the country 1,990 tablets worth 200,000 NZ dollars (U.S.$100,000). Athletics NZ told Poelman, 35, last week it would ban him from the sport.

Trafficking in drugs outlawed by the International Amateur Athletic Federation carries a life ban, the Times said. While ecstasy is not specifically banned, it has an amphetamine base which is. Poelman was found guilty of importing the drug, which he sent from Belgium hidden in a fluffy toy rabbit to an unsuspecting friend in Auckland. During his three-day trial, he admitted putting the toy in a package but denies any knowledge of the ecstasy it contained, the New Zealand Herald reported last week.

A decision on an appeal may be made this week. (AFP)