Teenage gymnast's tears one more stain on Games

The tiny frame of Andreea Raducan now stands as a symbol of the rights and wrongs of the international struggle against drugs in sport.

In a Games scandalised by steroids, masking agents and nations protecting their own drug sinners, the gymnast who took over-the-counter tablets for a headache has lost her appeal to regain her gold medal.

Raducan was hit by a hardline judicial ruling as Australia's two leading newspapers declared the Games tarnished by the wider drugs scandal.

The Sydney Morning Herald carried a front-page editorial accusing officials of having lied to protect dope-case athletes.

"Only media pressure and a combination of bizarre circumstances have brought about their public downfall," the newspaper said.

The Australian splashed the headline, "Drugs cheats sour Games," across its front page.

"The Sydney Games are in danger of becoming remembered as the drugs Olympics as three more athletes were caught up in doping scandals yesterday ... with predictions of more to come," it said.

The ruling of the Court of Arbitration in Sport effectively accepted Raducan's innocence but confirmed her punishment, proclaiming:

"It is the presence of a prohibited substance in a competitor's bodily fluid which constitutes the offence, irrespective of whether the competitor intended to ingest the prohibited substance.

"The panel is aware of the impact of its decision on a fine, young elite athlete.

"It finds that in balancing the interests of Miss Raducan with the commitment of the Olympic movement to drug-free sport, the anti-doping code must be enforced without compromise."

Automatic disqualification was appropriate.

Mitigating factors such as Raducan's age, weight, need for medication, reliance on the team doctor and the fact that the drug did not enhance her performance were irrelevant.

Romanian team spokesman Alex Epuran said Raducan would be shattered by the news.

"I think she will be heartbroken. I am."

International Olympic Committee director-general Francois Carrard said: "It was a very difficult decision for the IOC board to take. This ruling demonstrates that it had no option."

Raducan spent more than four hours on Wednesday before the panel of three independent legal experts pleading her case.

The gymnast, who turns 17 tomorrow, was found to have pseudoephedrine, a banned substance, in her blood from the cold and flu medication.

The team doctor who prescribed the medication has been banned until 2004.

Raducan took the pills to relieve a headache, and said it was declared to the IOC before her competition.

The IOC has allowed Raducan to keep her other gold and silver medals and stay in the Olympic Village.

The Games, now entering their 13th day, have been dogged by drugs controversies, with five athletes testing positive, including four who have been stripped of their medals.

Raducan's assistant coach, Maria Bitang, said the case had "destroyed" the gymnast, her family and the team.

In Romania, hundreds of young people protested around the country.

With her disqualification, the IOC awarded the individual all-round gold to fellow-Romanian Simona Amanar - who said: "I told the court the medal had no meaning to me as Andreea won it after years of work."