Blake ban reduced to four-and-a-half years

Jamaica's Dominique Blake competes in the women's 4x400 metres relay final at the Central American and Caribbean games in Mayaguez July 30, 2010. REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate

BERNE (Reuters) - Jamaican 400 metre runner Dominique Blake's six-year ban for a second doping offence has been cut to four-and-a-half years on appeal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said in a statement on Monday.

CAS said it had reached its decision "in view of some mitigating factors" although it added that "the athlete has failed to establish that she bears no significant fault or negligence."