11 August 2008

BEIJING - Spanish cyclist Maria Isabel Moreno has tested positive for the blood booster EPO, making her the first doping offender in Olympic testing at the Beijing Games, the International Olympic Committee said on Monday.

IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said that Moreno, 27, failed a test conducted on 31 July  in the Olympic village and flew home the same night "before having heard the results of her tests." She was due to compete in the road time trial.

Moreno was formally kicked out of the Games by the IOC on Monday with further sanctions lying with the cycling body UCI. She faces a two-year ban.

The IOC is carrying out a record 4,500 tests in Beijing in the Olympic period 27 July 27-24 August. That is 1,000 tests more than in Athens 2004, where 26 athletes were caught cheating.     

"The IOC means business in stamping out these who are not playing by the rules," said Davies.

Cycling has been dogged by doping in recent years and Spain is one of the countries plagued by substance abuse, with Manuel Beltran and Moises Duenas Nevado of Spain testing positive for EPO at the Tour de France in July.

[dpa / Expatica]

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