14 Aug 2012

Shamed shot putter vows to clear her name

10:08 am on 14 August 2012

The disgraced Olympic shot putter Nadezhda Ostapchuk says she'll fight to clear her name after being stripped of the gold medal she won a week ago for testing positive for a banned anabolic steroid.

The IOC revealed last night that two urine samples taken from the Belarussian before and after her win in London tested positive for metenolone, and New Zealand's defending champion from Beijing, Valerie Adams is now officially the gold medalist.

But Ostapchuk was shocked to find out through the internet of her positive test, saying she'd been tested 16 times since April, most recently just before she went to London, without a positive result.

She said you'd have to be a complete idiot to take drugs just before a major competition, and she has also accused Olympic organisers of prejudice against Belarussian athletes.

Ostapchuk says she'll wait for the Belarussian delegation to return from London before deciding what to do next.