IOC sanctions five athletes who competed in Beijing

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced sanctions against five athletes who participated in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing for having committed anti-doping violations. These five athletes tested positive for mirCERA© (CERA), a third generation of the endurance-enhancing hormone, EPO.

The samples were collected and tested at Games-time and were subject to further analysis earlier this year when a fully validated test to detect CERA became available. Originally, six athletes showed adverse analytical findings in their A samples. However, one athlete was not sanctioned due to the presence of CERA not being detected in her B sample.

All six athletes had the opportunity to be heard by an IOC Disciplinary Commission.

Two of the athletes sanctioned are medallists:
- Rashid Ramzi from Bahrain, gold medallist in the 1500m (athletics) and
- Davide Rebellin from Italy, silver medallist in the individual road race (cycling).

In these two cases, the IOC Disciplinary Commission forwarded its recommendations to the IOC Executive Board, which took the following decisions:

The athlete, Rashid Ramzi, Bahrain, Athletics -

* shall be disqualified from the Athletics Men’s 1500m event of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, where he had placed 1st.
* shall have his medal and diploma in the above-mentioned event withdrawn.
* The International Association of Athletics Federations is requested to modify the results of the above-mentioned event accordingly and to consider any further action within its own competence.
* The National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Bahrain is ordered to return to the IOC, as soon as possible, the medal and diploma awarded to the Athlete in relation to the above-mentioned event.
* The NOC of Bahrain shall ensure full implementation of this decision.
* This decision shall enter into force immediately.

The athlete, Davide Rebellin, Italy, Cycling -

* shall be disqualified from the Men’s Cycling Road event of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, where he had placed 2nd.
* shall have his medal and diploma in the above-mentioned event withdrawn.
* The Union Cycliste Internationale is requested to modify the results of the above-mentioned event accordingly and to consider any further action within its own competence.
* The NOC of Italy is ordered to return to the IOC, as soon as possible, the medal and diploma awarded to the Athlete in relation to the above-mentioned event.
* The NOC of Italy shall ensure full implementation of this decision.
* This decision shall enter into force immediately.

In the other four cases, which did not involve medallists, the IOC Disciplinary Commission was the decision-making body. The decisions are as follows:

* The athlete Stefan Schumacher, Germany, Cycling, is disqualified from the Men’s individual Time Trial event of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games where he placed 13th;
* The Union Cycliste Internationale is requested to modify the results of the above-mentioned event accordingly and to consider any further action within its own competence.
* This decision shall enter into force immediately

* The athlete, Athanasia Tsoumeleka, Greece, Athletics, is disqualified from the Women’s 20km Walk event of the 2008 Olympic Games where she placed 9th;
* The International Association of Athletics Federations is requested to modify the results of the above-mentioned event accordingly and to consider any further action within its own competence.
* The decision shall enter into force immediately.


* The athlete, Vanja Perisic, Croatia, Athletics, is disqualified from the Athletics Women’s 800m event (Round 1, Heat 3) of the 2008 Olympic Games, where she had placed 6th;
* The International Association of Athletics Federations is requested to modify the results of the above-mentioned event accordingly and to consider any further action within its own competence.
* This decision shall enter into force immediately.


In the case of Yudelquis Maridalin Contreras from the Dominican Republic, who placed fifth in the Women’s 53kg weightlifting event, the IOC Disciplinary Commission decided that:
on the basis of the proof currently available in the present case, no sanction shall be imposed upon the athlete Yudelquis Maridalin Contreras.

* The IOC’s right to re-open a disciplinary procedure is reserved in the event that new evidence comes to light.
* The International Weightlifting Federation and the NOC of the Dominican Republic shall be informed of this decision.
* This decision shall enter into force immediately.


Background information:
As part of its zero-tolerance policy against doping, the IOC is storing samples collected during the Olympic Games for eight years. This allows the IOC to analyse samples retroactively should new fully validated tests to detect new prohibited substances/methods become available. The latest round of further analyses, which began in January, took advantage of improved technology to seek evidence of the prohibited use of CERA and insulin. Most of the work was conducted at the WADA-accredited laboratory in Lausanne, in close collaboration with the accredited laboratories in Paris and Cologne.

Strong anti-doping programme in Vancouver:
During the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, approximately 2000 doping tests - 1600 urine and 400 blood - will be conducted under the authority of the IOC. This represents a 67% increase from the last Olympic Winter Games in Turin in 2006.