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27 April 2024

Shot putter stripped of Olympic gold for doping

Belarus' Nadzeya Ostapchuk competes in the women's shot put final during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in this August 6 file photo. (Reuters)

Published
By AP

Shot putter Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus became the first athlete to be stripped of a medal at the London Olympics after her gold was withdrawn for doping.

Valerie Adams of New Zealand will now take gold and Evgeniia Kolodko of Russia will get silver. Fourth-place finisher Gong Lijiao of China moves up to bronze.

The International Olympic Committee said Monday that Ostapchuk tested positive for the steroid metenolone. She won the shot put exactly a week earlier.

The IOC says she was tested the day before her competition and again following the event. Both samples were positive.

The announcement came hours after the flame was extinguished at the closing ceremony with athletes and officials heading out of London.