OLYMPICS: Officials Strip American Cyclist Of Gold medal

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U.S. cyclist Tyler Hamilton, center, won gold in the men's individual time trial at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Image credit CNN

The International Olympic Committee has stripped American cyclist Tyler Hamilton of his 2004 gold due to doping and ordered him to return the medal that he won in the Athens Olympics.

"Hamilton, 41, who finished first in the men's individual time trial and 18th in the men's road race at Athens 2004, was disqualified from those events after he admitted to having used performance-enhancing drugs in advance of the Games," the IOC said in a press release Friday.
The IOC also ruled that the riders who finished behind Hamilton in the individual time trial in Athens will now be moved up in placement.
That means Russian Ekimov Viatcheslav Ekimov will now get the gold medal, and American cyclist Bobby Julich will get the silver. Michael Rogers of Australia, who finished fourth, will now get the bronze.
Hamilton made headlines last year when he accused fellow American cyclist Lance Armstrong of doping.
Armstrong, Hamilton's former teammate, has strongly denied those allegations.