Ramzi claims he's innocent
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Track gold medalist Rashid Ramzi's backup sample tested positive for a banned blood-booster, the head of Bahrain's Olympic Committee told The Associated Press on Sunday.
The 1,500-meter champ and four other athletes tested positive for the blood-boosting drug CERA in April retests of their "A" samples from the Beijing Games.
"I can confirm we have received [Ramzi's] 'B' sample and it was positive," said Sheik Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the secretary general of Bahrain's Olympic Committee.
Ramzi claims he is innocent. Ahmed said his organization has hired a team of lawyers to assist Ramzi in arguing his case.
"We are still supporting the athlete's stand," Ahmed said. "We have met with him and he assured us he did not know anything about the substance and did not use anything."
Abdulrahman Askar, Bahrain's Athletics Association vice president, told reporters earlier this week that Ramzi's samples may have been mishandled.
"We think there has been a big mistake in the process and our lawyers are trying to gather more points on this issue," Askar said.
Ramzi was the first gold medalist from Beijing caught using performance-enhancing drugs. The Moroccan-born runner gave Bahrain its first ever Olympic track and field gold medal with his victory in the 1,500 in 3 minutes, 32.94 seconds.
Disciplinary hearings are expected to be held at the end of the month. The IOC executive board, which has the power to disqualify athletes from past and future games, next meets in Berlin on Aug. 13-14.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
