Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Rebellin Olympic medal taken away

Davide Rebellin
Rebellin won his silver medal on his 37th birthday

Davide Rebellin has been stripped of his Olympic cycling road race silver medal after a positive dope test.

The Italian tested positive for Cera, an advanced version of endurance-enhancing substance EPO, after coming second behind Spain's Samuel Sanchez.

Italy's Olympic Committee (CONI) said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had disqualified the 38-year-old.

Fabian Cancellara and Alexander Kolobnev, who came third and fourth, could now be promoted as a result.

When the initial test results were made public in April, Rebellin denied any wrong-doing, telling Italian newspaper La Stampa: "I don't know what may have happened. It is certainly a mistake. It is impossible that I tested positive."

606: DEBATE

He now faces a CONI disciplinary hearing and will also pay them back prize money of around £67,000.

The IOC tested 948 samples from Beijing after new tests for Cera and insulin became available after the Olympics.

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