Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus who won gold for her country in Shot Put event will come down in history of the London 2012 Olympics which ended yesterday as the first athlete to be stripped of her medal as she failed a dope test.
As it stands now, Silver medallist, Valerie Adams of New Zealand has been awarded the gold medal and Evgeniia Kolodko of Russia the silver medal while fourth-placed Gong Lijiao of China was awarded the bronze.
According to the International Olympic Committee, Ostapchuk tested positive for the steroid metenolone, a test that was done on her a day before she was supposed to compete and following her win she also tested and both samples came out positive.
The IOC went to work by preparing a statement ordering the Olympic committee of Belarus to return as soon as possible the medal, diploma and medallist pin awarded to Nadzeya Ostapchuk in relation to the event.
The announcement came hours after the flame was extinguished at the closing ceremony with athletes and officials heading out of London. A day earlier, IOC President Jacques Rogge had proclaimed the fight against doping a success.
The Belarus team had already sent home hammer thrower Ivan Tsikhan because of suspicions over a sample provided after his silver-medal performance at the 2004 Athens Games.
Besides Ostapchuk, only one athlete tested positive for a banned substance after competing. U.S. judo fighter, Nick Delpopolo was cited for traces of marijuana in his urine sample.
He blamed “inadvertent consumption” of food baked with the substance. The IOC disqualified him from seventh place in the 73-kilogram class.
Seven more were caught in doping controls conducted since the official testing period for the games began July 16. One of the seven competed in London before her test result was known.
The IOC had said this would be its most extensive Olympic anti-doping program. It took almost 6,000 urine and blood samples, including no-notice tests ahead of athletes competing.
Rogge cautioned that some samples are still being analysed and “we might hear something tomorrow or the day after. Hopefully not, but you never know.”
Syrian runner Ghfran Almouhamad tested positive for the stimulant methylhexaneamine two days before her 400-metre hurdles heat. She placed eighth and was eliminated before the IOC disqualified her.
Until this latest turn of events, the London Games were set to end with medal standings in all 302 events unaltered by doping scandals.
Three Beijing events were tainted during the games, and two more medals were changed months later when a new test for the blood-booster CERA was introduced. The men’s 1,500-meter gold medal was stripped from Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain.
