Gold medalist found guilty of doping

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Five athletes, including gold medal winner Rashid Ramzi, have been sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee following positive results on doping tests.

Ramzi finished first in the 1,500 meters at the 2008 Summer Olympics, taking the first Olympic gold medal for Bahrain, but Wednesday's announcement by the IOC will strip him of the medal.

The IOC also withdrew the award from cycling road race silver medalist Davide Rebellin after a retest of blood samples taken in Beijing came up positive. Italian officials announced that decision Tuesday.

The release didn't say whether athletes who finished behind Ramzi and Rebellin would be moved up in the standings.

Also deemed to have used performance-enhancing substances were Croatian runner Vanja Perisic, German cyclist Stefan Schumacher and Greek race walker Athanasia Tsoumeleka.

The IOC release said all five athletes tested positive for CERA, a third-generation, endurance-enhancing hormone. The positive results came up in retests carried out last April of samples taken during the August 2008 Games.

Thirteen athletes, out of more than 11,000 Beijing Games participants, have been sanctioned for positive performance-enhancing substance test results.