Troy Douglas is half-way to proving his innocence of drug taking before the World Championships in Spain last summer.

After the first day of his hearing before the Truth Commission of the Royal Athletics Union of the Netherlands (KNAU) on Tuesday, Douglas said he was confident that he would be cleared of doping offences when the panel reconvened next Tuesday.

And the 200 and 400 metre runner hopes that his case will prove so strong that he won't have go before the IAAF's own arbitration panel before being given the go ahead to compete in the Sydney Olympics later this year.

Douglas, a Bermudian sprinter who now races for Holland, tested positive for the banned substance nandrolone on the eve of the World Championships in the southern Spanish city of Seville in August and was subsequently thrown out of the event.

He had been set to represent his adoptive country, where he has lived since 1997, in the 4x100m relay when news of the test emerged.

He has continued to protest his innocence, along with other high-profile athletes Linford Christie, of Britain, and Jamaican Merlene Ottey, who also tested positive for nandrolone but were later cleared by their own federations.

"I can't say it's definitely going my way, but from the questions asked it looks like I can win. I have a lot of faith I can win,'' Douglas said yesterday after listening to seven hours of evidence presented by his lawyer on Tuesday.

"It's been proved it's not a doping case and it's not from the supplements.

"Nandrolone occurs naturally in the body and is known to stay there for 150 days. I was tested by the IAAF before the Dutch Championships in June and the results were negative.

"The problem is nobody knows how much is made by the body -- it depends on the circumstances.

"The IAAF has an official limit, but it's not known if the body can make higher amounts. There has only been research on Eastern Europeans -- there has been no research on other ethnic groups or on whether stress can increase the levels.

"This is what they need to look into.'' At a recent meeting in Monaco, the IAAF rejected a proposal from the British govening body, UK Athletics, to suspend disciplinary action against athletes who have tested positive for nandrolone.

The call was made in response to the explosion of positive tests from around the world -- 343 last year alone.

It did agree, however, to set up an inquiry into the substance, an anabolic steroid, but claimed any such investigation could take more than a year.

In the meantime, the legal manoeuvrings seems to have taken their toll on a fatigued Douglas.

"I'm tired of the case,'' he added. "I was sitting in the court room all day on Tuesday and that puts you under tremendous pressure. I think I've picked up a slight virus.''