Olympic Champion Ramzi Stripped Of Gold Medal

DONETSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Bahrain's Olympic 1,500 meters champion Rashid Ramzi has been stripped of his gold medal for doping at the Beijing 2008 Games, the International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday.

"The IOC today announced sanctions against five athletes who participated in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing for having committed anti-doping violations," the IOC said in a statement.

"The athlete, Rashid Ramzi shall be disqualified from the athletics men's 1,500m event, where he had placed first. He shall have his medal and diploma in the above-mentioned event withdrawn," the IOC said.

Moroccan-born Ramzi, Bahrain's first Olympic champion was the only gold medalist among the five sanctioned.

The 29-year-old former world champion's positive for the banned blood-booster CERA was announced in April after frozen samples from the Beijing Olympics were re-tested for that specific substance.

Asbel Kipruto Kiprop of Kenya who won silver behind Ramzi now stands to be upgraded to gold, with the decision resting on the IOC. New Zealand's Nicholas Willis took bronze in the 1,500 final and Mehdi Baala of France was fourth.

"It is good news to me. I can't speak more than that," Kiprop said in Kenya.

RETURN MEDAL

Italy's cycling road race silver medalist Davide Rebellin was ordered to return his medal by the country's Olympic Committee on Tuesday.

The other positive results were from German cyclist Stefan Schumacher, already banned for doping, Greece's 2004 Athens Games 20km walk champion Athanasia Tsoumeleka and Croatian 800 meters runner Vanja Perisic.

The IOC has disqualified the five athletes from the Games, ordered their federations to adjust the final standings in their events and take further action regarding their bans.

First-time offenders face an automatic two-year suspension while repeat offenders could be banned for life.

Under IOC rules anyone handed a six-month suspension or longer is also banned from competing in the 2012 Games in London.

The IOC retested 948 athletes' samples, focusing mainly on endurance events in cycling, rowing, swimming and athletics.

Six athletes had initially tested positive after Beijing blood sample retests were conducted months after the Games.

Dominican Republic weightlifter Yudelquis Contreras was cleared after her B sample came back negative.

Nine other competitors tested positive in tests conducted during the Games as well as six horses in the equestrian events.

The IOC conducted the largest ever doping operation with about 5,000 blood and urine tests during the Beijing Games.