Olympic and world 400m champion LaShawn Merritt failed three successive drugs tests between October and January.
His lawyer Howard Jacobs claimed in a statement that the positive tests were caused by Merritt's "use of an over-the-counter male enhancement product".
Jacobs said: "LaShawn Merritt has accepted a provisional suspension as a result of [the] positive drug tests."
The American, 23, faces a two-year ban and admitted he had made a "foolish, immature and egotistical mistake".
Merritt claimed he had not been aware that the product he used contained the banned steroid Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA).
He said in a statement: "To know I have tested positive as a result of a product I used for personal reasons is extremely difficult.
"I hope my sponsors, family, friends and the sport itself will forgive me. Any penalty I may receive for my action will not overshadow the embarrassment and humiliation I feel.''
In the statement, Merritt admitted he had not read the "fine print" on the product he purchased.
The Los Angeles Times quoted Doug Logan, the chief executive of USA Track & Field, as saying that Merritt had "sullied his career".
"He has put an unfortunate stigma on himself he is going to be living down the rest of his life."
Logan added Merritt's actions "indicate an extraordinary lack of maturity and an absence of the responsibility necessary to be a world-class athlete".
Merritt's claim that he was unaware the product contained DHEA is generally not a valid defence under anti-doping rules which state athletes must take ultimate responsibility for their bodies.
As well as winning individual gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Worlds in Berlin a year later, Merritt also helped the US team win 4x400m relay titles at both events.
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