Olympic 1500m champ Rashid Ramzi tests positive...

As reported by several news agencies, 2008 Olympic 1500 meter champion Rashid Ramzi (#408/photo by Paul Merca) of Bahrain tested positive for a banned substance called Mircera, the commercial name for the blood-booster CERA.

The Moroccan-born runner, who won the 800-1,500 double at the 2005 world championships, gave Bahrain its first ever Olympic track and field gold medal with victory in Beijing in 3 minutes, 32.94 seconds.

Ramzi's "B" sample will be tested in France on June 8 and he will face an IOC hearing the same day, the Bahrain Olympic Committee said.

"The Bahrain Olympic Committee apologizes for receiving such news from the International Olympic Committee since it ensured Ramzi went through all the necessary doping tests before the games and they were all negative," the committee said in a statement.

In a prepared statement, the IAAF said, "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. 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."

Auburn's Chris Lukezic, who would have been a finalist in the 1500 at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki had Ramzi not been ahead of him, has an interesting take on Ramzi's possible disqualification.