Olympic silver likely for Willis, says Maister

Olympic 1500m bronze medallist Nick Willis may be upgraded to silver after the gold medal winner tested positive for drugs. Photo / Kenny Rodger

An upgrade of Nick Willis' Olympic 1500m medal from bronze to silver should be a formality, NZ Olympic Committee secretary general Barry Maister says.

The Hutt Valley-raised middle distance runner is in the hunt for an upgrade after gold medallist, Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain, tested positive for drugs.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) identified him as one of seven more positive drugs results from re-testing of samples taken from six athletes at Beijing

Following his "A" positive test result he has a test for a B sample in France on June 8 and will face an IOC hearing the same day.

Maister said today if athletes tested positive to the A sample it was almost a foregone conclusion they would do the same with the B sample.

"I would expect that within a week we will be notified by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) that Nick is eligible for the silver," he told Radio New Zealand.

Maister said he felt sorry for Willis if it transpired that he had been cheated out of a silver medal, which would mean he missed being able to step up the celebrations immediately after his run.

"When I think of these athletes who win by cheating, they get a lot of kudos and probably a lot of sponsorship and accolade that comes with it, and you can't ever take that back.

"So the cheats do momentarily prosper in this system, all we can say is that we believe Nick is a genuine champion and we are mighty proud of his bronze - and now his silver.

"He will never stand on the victory dais in that second spot, but for us he is a champion."

If Ramzi is stripped of the Beijing victory, Asbel Kipruto Kiprop of Kenya stands to be upgraded from silver to gold.

Fourth-place finisher Mehdi Baala of France could move up to the bronze medal.

The six new cases bring to 15 the total number of athletes caught doping in Beijing last August.

The IOC re-analysed a total of 948 samples from Beijing after new lab tests for CERA and insulin later became available.

The testing began in January and focused mainly on endurance events in cycling, rowing, swimming and track and field.

- NZPA