Rashid Ramzi,  champion of the 2008 Beijing Olympic 1500m, has been stripped of his gold medal after tests showed him positive for doping.

Ramzi was the first Olympic champion of Bahrain and was one of the five athletes who were tested positive for the new blood-booster Cera in April.

He faces a two-year ban but is expected to send an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Asbel Kipruto Kiprop of Kenya, who came in second place, is set to be awarded the gold medal.

Nicolas Willis of New Zealand and Mehdi Baala of France are also set to be upgraded to silver and bronze, respectively.

The vice president of the International Association of Athletics Federations and chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee, Sebastian Coe, was happy with the decision.

Coe, who was also an Olympic 1500m gold medalist said, “That was the right decision. Cheats cannot prosper in our sport and people will realise that sooner or later. Unfortunately, that was high profile and we can do without it, but it also shows the quality of our testing procedures now.”

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