Rashid Ramzi named in Beijing drug scandal

OLYMPIC 1500m gold medallist Rashid Ramzi has been named and shamed as one of the six Beijing Olympians to fail a doping test.

NAMED AND SHAMED: Bahrain's Rashid Ramzi outed as one of six guilty in drug scandal (Getty Images) 

The 28-year-old from Bahrain has been named by his National Olympic Committee as one of the athletes to test positive and becomes the second medallist to do so.

The Italian Olympic Committee has also confirmed that Davide Rebellin, a 37-year-old cyclist, who picked up road race silver in Beijing has tested positive after the IOC chose to re-test 948 samples.

And the German Cycling Federation have revealed Stefan Schumacher - who has already picked up a two-year ban from the UCI for doping - was also among the guilty six.

The IOC have confirmed that seven tests, involving six athletes came back positive for Cera - a version of the endurance-enhancing hormone EPO.

Ramzi, who previously competed for Morocco, captured Bahrain's first ever Olympic medal last August, adding to the 800m and 1500m gold medals he won at the World Championships in Helsinki in 2005.

Meanwhile, Rebellin - who was outed by Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport yesterday has denied any wrongdoing.

"I don't know what may have happened. It is certainly a mistake. It is impossible that I tested positive," he told another Italian newspaper La Stampa.

Both the British Olympic Association and the United Stated Olympic Committee have revealed they have not been contacted by the IOC with regards to the positive tests.

Athletics' world governing body IAAF have confirmed that three of the positive tests have come from track and field athletes but refused to digress any more information.

"The cases are currently confidential, and the IAAF is bound by its Rules and unable to confirm the names or nationalities of any athletes involved or comment further at this stage," said a spokesman.

"The usual results management procedures for samples taken during the period of the Olympic Games will now apply including the option for all athletes to have their B samples tested. 

"The IAAF must wait for further details from the IOC before considering any provisional suspension of the athletes and a decision is not expected within the next week.

In addition to the two cyclists and three athletes, the International Weightlifting Federation have confirmed a yet unidentified weightlifter is the sixth to test positive. 

Pending disciplinary action from the IOC, any athletes failing doping tests are liable to sanctions and penalties from their National Olympic Committee and will be stripped of their medals.

Should Ramzi be stripped of his medal, it would promote Kenya's Asbel Kipruto Kiprop into gold medal position, New Zealand's Nicholas Willis into silver and France's Mehdi Baala into bronze.

Great Britain's Andt Baddeley would move up one place from ninth to eighth.

Taking Rebellin's place would be Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara, while Russia's Alexander Kolobnev would be promoted onto the podium.