LONDON, Aug 9 (AP): The IOC is set to formally strip American cyclist Tyler Hamilton of his gold from the 2004 Athens Games and reassign the medals after his admission of doping, according to an Olympic official familiar with the case.
With the eight-year deadline approaching, the official told The Associated Press the IOC executive board will meet tomorrow to readjust the standings from the road race time trial and award the gold to retired Russian rider Viatcheslav Ekimov.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision hasn�t been announced yet.
After years of denials, Hamilton told CBS�s �60 Minutes� last year that he had repeatedly used performance-enhancing drugs. The IOC asked for documents from the US Anti-Doping Agency before reallocating the medals. The gold will now go to Ekimov, a former teammate of Hamilton and Lance Armstrong.
American Bobby Julich will be moved up from bronze to silver, and Michael Rogers of Australia from fourth to bronze.
The Russian Olympic Committee has repeatedly pressed for Ekimov to be upgraded to gold.
Ekimov already has two Olympic gold medals, the track team pursuit at the 1988 Seoul Games and the road time trial at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
