Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Silver medal ceremony could be held for Willis this month

Updated at 5:26 pm on 11 January 2010

The Beijing Olympic 1500m bronze medallist Nick Willis says he's become quite attached to his bronze medal and will find it difficult to hand it back, even though he'll be upgrading to silver.

The International Olympic Committee's expected to confirm this week that Willis will be awarded the silver, after the race winner Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain was stripped of his gold medal for doping.

The second placed Kipruto Kiprop of Kenya's will be upgraded to gold.

Willis, who's based in the United States, is back home in New Zealand until later this month and the New Zealand Olympic Committee hopes to receive the silver medal in time to present it to him while he's here.

NZOC spokesperson, Ashley Abbott, says if the new medal arrives from the IOC before Willis returns to the United States, an award ceremony will be held otherwise there'll be one be he returns later in the year.

Willis will have to return his bronze medal, which he says will be difficult to do.

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