August 11, 2008 Cyclist from Spain kicked out of Olympics for doping

BEIJING (AP) - In the first official doping case of the Beijing Olympics, Spanish cyclist Maria Isabel Moreno was kicked out of the games Monday after testing positive for EPO.

Moreno, who was to compete in the women's road race and individual time trial, was tested in the athletes' village July 31 and left China later the same day before learning the result, the International Olympic Committee said.

IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said Moreno's sample came back positive for EPO, a blood-boosting hormone that enhances endurance and has been at the center of numerous doping scandals in cycling in recent years.

The IOC expelled Moreno from the games, revoked her accreditation and asked cycling's world governing body to follow up for any further sanctions. Athletes found guilty of doping typically get a two-year ban.

Eugenio Bermudez, secretary general of the Spanish cycling federation, said Moreno's backup "B" sample was tested Sunday night.

The 27-year-old Moreno is the first athlete caught under the IOC's Beijing drug-testing program, which began with the opening of the Olympic village July 27 and runs through the end of the games on Aug. 24. The program includes a record 4,500 doping controls, with athletes subject to surprise, out-of-competition tests at any time and any place.

Under a new IOC rule, Moreno will be barred from the 2012 London Olympics if she's banned for more than six months.

"The IOC means business in stamping

Spanish officials called on Moreno to cooperate with authorities and tell them who supplied her with the banned drug.

"We are going to hunt down the shameless people who are causing harm to the health of our athletes," Sports Minister Jaime Lissavetzky said. "We will look to apply the maximum law to totally clamp down on drug-taking in sport. We will go to the courts, because we want to jail all the cheats."

Anti-doping legislation passed by Spain last year calls for prison sentences of six months to two years for anyone convicted of prescribing, dispensing or facilitating the use of banned substances among athletes. Moreno could face fines of between $1,900 and $15,320.

Spanish cycling federation secretary general Eugenio Bermudez accompanied Moreno to the drug test in the Olympic village. He said she emerged from the test crying and asked to return to Spain immediately, citing an anxiety attack.

Spanish cycling federation president Fulgencio Sanchez said Moreno had been tested for EPO six times since February.

Moreno, a three-time Spanish national champion, is not a major name in international cycling and was not considered a medal contender in Beijing. She was a third-place finisher at the women's Giro in Italy in 2007.

Moreno said on her Web site that she was "taking advantage of several days to relax and recuperate from the strong anxiety attack suffered" in Beijing.

With Moreno's departure, the Spanish team had two riders instead of three in Sunday's road race, which was won by Britain's Nicole Cooke. Moreno also had been scheduled to race in Wednesday's time trial.

Spanish cyclists have been under intense scrutiny since Operation Puerto, a blood doping investigation launched in Madrid in May 2006 that has implicated dozens of riders.

Two Spanish cyclists, Moises Duenas Nevado and Manuel Beltran, tested positive for EPO during this year's Tour de France.

"This is a very bad thing for the sport of cycling and makes no sense that there are still cases like these," 2007 Tour champion Alberto Contador said. "People have to be aware of this and it is unbelievable how it still happens."

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)