Olympic gold medalist Tyler Hamilton is expecting an arbitration decision in his blood doping case as soon as Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

With the decision - and a possible two-year suspension - imminent, Hamilton continued to deny wrongdoing. "I didn't blood dope, that's for sure," he told the newspaper.

Hamilton presented his case in late February and early March to hearing conducted by a three-member panel of the North American Court of Arbitration for Sport and the American Arbitration Association. Rumors have abounded for the past seven days, with many usually reliable sources saying that Hamilton will emerge the victor in the case, some even suggesting that he will return to racing as early as Tuesday’s Tour de Georgia.

No matter how the case evolves at this stage, however, the losing party will most certainly appeal to the sporting world’s highest authority, the International Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Hamilton and his former Phonak teammate, Santiago Perez – the man who finished second in the Vuelta a España – remain the only two athletes found positive for blood doping by an Australian-designed test introduced just prior to the Athens Olympics.

Citing documents presented to the arbitrators and a transcript of the hearing where Hamilton and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency presented their cases, the Times reported that the case hinges on the scientific interpretation of data produced by Hamilton's drug tests.

Hamilton tested positive for so-called homologous blood transfusions both at the Olympics and at the Vuelta a España last year. He was allowed to keep his time-trial gold from Athens because the B sample from that test was destroyed when it was deep-frozen. Existing WADA laboratory protocols had been designed for the preservation of urine and blood plasma samples. The test for blood-doping, however, involves the testing of whole blood samples and deep-freezing renders red blood cells in those samples untestable.

An investigation has been launched into how the sample came to be destroyed. The IOC said that while the lack of a suitable B sample meant they could not pursue disciplinary measures, it did not "challenge the accuracy of the analysis of the A sample."

World Anti-Doping Agency president Dick Pound told VeloNews in December that in his opinion Hamilton had “dodged a serious bullet” after the Athens sample was mishandled and that the American didn’t deserve to keep the medal he won at the Olympics.

When Hamilton tested positive for blood doping after winning the eighth stage of the Vuelta a España, a time trial, on September 11, both the A and B samples were positive.

Whether by coincidence or intent, Hamilton didn’t learn of his Athens positive until he had already submitted samples in Spain. Pound suggested that the Spanish samples may have been taken with Athens in mind.

“I think our people did suggest to the UCI that they do a targeted test on this guy,” Pound said.

The Times also reported that UCI documents it obtained showed that a series of warning letters sent to Hamilton and his Phonak team were triggered by medical tests that showed a red blood cell count of 49.7, just at the border of the standard that would have triggered an automatic two-week suspension. USADA officials pointed to other medical records that showed Hamilton’s normal hematocrit level was considerably lower than that.

Blood doping is a means of enhancing endurance by increasing the amount of oxygen-carrying red blood cells using one's own blood or a donor of the same group.

According to the Times, anti-doping authorities say Hamilton's blood samples showed evidence of another person's blood, called a "mixed population."

Ross Brown, an Australian scientist called to testify by USADA, said a blood transfusion was the "only reasonable explanation" for such a result.

David Housman, a genetics expert and professor at the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology, testified on behalf of Hamilton that a transfusion wasn't the only possible cause of a so-called "mixed population" in blood.

He put forward the possibility of a "vanishing twin" – or chimera - passing its cells to a twin in the womb in a pregnancy in which eventually only one fetus develops fully.

While USADA experts scoffed at the possibility, Hamilton's attorney said it showed up possible flaws in the test used to accuse the cyclist.

Hamilton's wife, Haven, told the newspaper that both she and her husband are at a loss to explain the test results.

“That's the million-dollar question," she told the newspaper. "If we could explain it, we would tattoo it on our arms."