Manama : Rashid Ramzi has been banned for two years by the Bahrain Athletics Association after being stripped of his 1,500-metre gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics for doping.
The Moroccan-born Ramzi was among five athletes who tested positive last April in retroactive tests for Cera, an advanced version of the blood-boosting drug Epo. He was stripped of his medal by the International Olympic Council in November.
The Bahrain association backdated Ramzi's ban to May 3, 2009 and "pledged to combat the use of steroids."
Ramzi was the only gold medallist 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.
Asbel Kipruto Kiprop of Kenya was upgraded from silver to gold in the 1,500 metres.
Reanalysis
Ramzi had tested negative at the 2008 Beijing Games, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reanalysed the samples when a fully validated test for Cera became available.
The IOC also stripped Italian cyclist Davide Rebellin of his silver medal in the Beijing road race and disqualified German rider Stefan Schumacher, Croatian 800-metre runner Vanja Perisic and Greek race walker Athanasia Tsoumeleka. They, however, did not win medals in Beijing.
Under IOC rules, all five athletes are ineligible for the 2012 London Olympics.
