http://sport.guardian.co.uk/athletics/story/0,10082,1450694,00.html
Duncan Mackay Saturday April 2, 2005 The Guardian Nearly eight months after the Olympic games in Athens the fall-out from the various drugs cases that blighted the event continue to rumble on. The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne yesterday upheld the decision of the International Olympic Committee to strip the Hungarians Robert Fazekas and Adrian Annus of the gold medals they won in Athens. It followed a threat earlier in the day from Jacques Rogge that the IOC would conduct its own investigation if the disgraced Greek sprinters Kostas Kederis and Ekaterina Thanou tried to compete in the 2008 games. Fazekas and Annus were stripped of the Olympic titles they won in the discus and hammer after they were found guilty of trying to evade drugs tests afterwards. They had appealed to the CAS for the return of the medals but the international court backed the IOC decision. "The IOC welcomes today's decision which is a clear backing to President Rogge's zero-tolerance policy in the fight against doping and emphasises that any violation of the IOC anti-doping rules and procedures can result in an athlete being excluded from the Olympic games," said Giselle Davies, the IOC spokeswoman. "This is in fact the first time in Olympic history that athletes have been excluded for refusals to provide samples." Rogge's zero tolerance is also set to extend to Kederis and Thanou, who were cleared by the Greek federation last month of all charges related to missing three doping tests. It is expected that the International Association of Athletics Federations will refer the matter to the CAS. ENDS
