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The Bahrain Athletics Association (BAA) is to launch its own investigation after Bahrain's first-ever Olympic gold medal winner Rashid Ramzi tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug.
It will start as soon as the athlete and his coach return to the kingdom in the next few days.
A special committee is being formed to carry out the probe. If Ramzi denies any wrong-doing he must request, in writing, that a second 'B sample' be examined. Should Ramzi admit to the offence the kingdom's glory will turn to gloom and a simple case of fool's gold.
Ramzi won the 1,500 metres race at last year's Beijing Olympics in China and the sample discrepancy only came to light after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) retested samples for a new type of chemical.
Lounes Madene, BAA technical manager, said: "I cannot make any official statements until all the facts are known. We will be launching our own investigation shortly."
He added that Ramzi was due to return to the kingdom in the next few days with his coach. Officials, including Shaikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalifa, a member of the Bahrain National Olympic Committee (NOC), are currently standing by the athlete and want to ensure he has the right to defend himself. They are fully co-operating with the IOC.
Ramzi is understood to have undergone eight tests before and during the games, all producing negative results. But the IOC said hundreds of samples taken in Beijing have been re-tested for CERA, a new version of the endurance-enhancing hormone EPO.
Should Ramzi contest the findings and his B sample contain the blood booster Bahrain would lose its only gold medal. The result of any second analysis would be revealed after a meeting in France by the IOC on June 8.
Ramzi was born in Morocco but now resides in Zayed Town in Bahrain. He took up Bahraini citizenship in 2002 after taking up a job with the Ministry of Defence.
"I do believe Bahrain is my home," he told GulfWeekly shortly after his Olympic success. "The country that gives you even more than you ever dreamed of, like, say an Olympic gold medal, then you will love that country even more than life.
"After the race I remember making my way to the Bahraini group on the side and they passed me three flags. I then took the largest flag and made my victory run."
The IOC said that out of 948 samples analysed, seven resulted in an adverse analytical finding (AAF) concerning six athletes, including Ramzi.
"The further analysis of the Beijing samples that we conducted should send a clear message that cheats can never assume that they have avoided detection," said Arne Ljungqvist, chairman of the IOC medical commission. "The vast majority of athletes do not seek an unfair advantage. We intend to do all we can to ensure that they have a fair environment for competition."
In accordance with the IOC's usual procedures, the IOC has notified the athletes through their national Olympic committee. Any necessary disciplinary procedures, including hearings, will be conducted based upon the IOC's Anti-Doping Rules applicable to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Pending the decision by the IOC, appropriate steps can be taken by the relevant international federation, in particular with respect to provisional suspension.
Due to the presumption of innocence, the IOC will not comment on any individual case.
As part of its zero-tolerance policy against doping, the IOC is storing samples collected during the Olympic Games for eight years. This allows it to analyse samples retroactively should new fully validated tests to detect new prohibited substances/methods become available.
The latest round of testing, which began in January, focused primarily on endurance events. The testing took advantage of improved technology to seek evidence of the prohibited use of CERA and insulin. Most of the work was conducted at the WADA-accredited laboratory in Lausanne, in close collaboration with accredited labs in Paris and Cologne.
