Doping test may cost Ramzi his Olympic gold

(GETTY IMAGES)

The men's Olympic 1500m crown, for many the traditional blue riband prize of the track and field programme, was tarnished by the stain of drugs yesterday when Rashid Ramzi was named as one of six competitors from last summer's Beijing Games who have failed retrospective tests for the blood-boosting hormone CERA, Continuous Erythropoiesis Activator.

The 28-year-old Moroccan-born Bahraini athlete added his name to a roll of honour featuring such middle-distance greats as Sebastian Coe, Herb Elliott, Peter Snell, Kip Keino, Paavo Nurmi and Hicham El Guerrouj when he surged to victory on the "Bird's Nest" track last August, holding off Kenya's Asbel Kiprop by 0.17sec. Now, unless his B sample tests negative in France on 8 June, Ramzi's name will be struck from the list.

Kiprop would become the new champion; New Zealander Nick Willis would trade his bronze medal for silver; and Mehdi Baala of France would move up from fourth to third.