Ramzi stripped of Olympic 1,500-meter gold medal

[yards]

Bahraini middle-distance runner Rashid Ramzi was stripped of his 1,500-meter Olympic gold medal Wednesday and four other athletes were disqualified because of doping at the Beijing Games.

Fifteen months after the games, the International Olympic Committee took action against the five athletes who tested positive in April in retroactive tests for CERA, an advanced version of the blood-boosting drug EPO.

The Moroccan-born Ramzi was the only gold medalist from Beijing caught using performance-enhancing drugs. He had given Bahrain its first Olympic track and field gold medal by winning the 1,500, one of the most prestigious events in the sport.

The athletes' samples were collected and tested at the Beijing Games in August 2008. They tested negative at the time, but the IOC reanalyzed the samples this year when a fully validated test for CERA became available.

Ramzi was the biggest name among the athletes caught in the retests.

[Bruno]

Here:

www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iXwlcsYZDv9hNcTmsguL_Cr9R5_QD9C1TS2O0

[B-rads]

thanks for letting us know buddy

[Haller]

He has now been officially banned for two years by the Bahrain federation. So he'll be back in London, one would assume? He'll be 32 but I don't know that it's right that he shold be able to compete if he qualifies.

www.insidethegames.biz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8739:bahrain-bans-ramzi-for-two-years-after-he-loses-olympic-gold-medal&catid=89:athletics-news&Itemid=119

[im]

The article says :

Under IOC rules, all five athletes are ineligible for the 2012 London Olympics, which could spell the end of the career of Ramzi, who turns 30 in July

[Haller]

Jan 10, 2010 12:02:35 GMT -5 im said:

The article says :

Under IOC rules, all five athletes are ineligible for the 2012 London Olympics, which could spell the end of the career of Ramzi, who turns 30 in July

Thanks, I misread that. Guess I have to read for content better;)

[im]

From another article:

New IOC rules this year will raise the ante for athletes who get caught doping. The IOC executive board ruled that any person suspended for six months or more for violating doping regulations will not be able to participate in any capacity in the following summer and winter Olympic Games.