US cyclist Tyler Hamilton to lose 2004 Olympic gold

London (dpa) - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is to strip US cyclist Tyler Hamilton of the gold medal he won in the men‘s time trial at the 2004 Athens Games, sources told dpa on Thursday.

After the competition, Hamilton tested positive for doping. But since the B sample had been destroyed and could not be tested, he was initially allowed to keep the medal.

He, however, admitted last year that he had used doping substances throughout his career and returned his medal to the US Anti-Doping Agency.

Sources close to the IOC told dpa that its disciplinary committee should announce on Friday that Hamilton is to officially be stripped of his medal.

The gold medal would then go to Russian Viatcheslav Ekimov, while American Bobby Julich will get silver and Australian Michael Rogers will be promoted to the bronze medal position.

The Russian Olympic federation had earlier appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in a bid to get the medal awarded to Ekimov, but had been turned down in 2006. dpa adh amh