Raducan wants her gold back
August 12, 2004
From correspondents in Athens
FORMER Romania gymnast Andreea Raducan has demanded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) returns the all-round gold medal it controversially stripped after she failed a drugs test at the Sydney Olympics.
Big leap ... Raducan was a wonder on the mats in Sydney for no reward / AP
The diminutive Raducan tested positive for the then banned substance pseudo-ephedrine after taking an over-the-counter cold remedy she had received from the Romania team doctor.
"I'm very angry. I want my medal back. It's my dream to get my medal back and I'm going to wait till I get it again," Raducan said two days before the start of the Athens Games.
Only 48 hours after leading a Romania medal sweep of the all-round competition, she was forced to return the gold medal to the IOC even though it was widely acknowledged the stimulant provided no competitive advantage.
Last year the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) removed pseudoephedrine from its list of banned substances and Raducan now wants her title reinstated.
"It's important for me to get it back. It's four years on from Sydney and those moments are still special for me," said the 20-year-old, who is in Athens to commentate on the Games.
"I'm happy that everyone understood there was a problem and said to me, 'We know you're not guilty and you're still the champion'.
"I can't go alone (to the IOC) and say 'Please give me my medal back' but maybe after these Olympic Games they will (return it).
"In the international (gymnastics) federation list, there was never a problem with pseudo-ephedrine ... so I hope I can get it back because it's not so easy to win an Olympic medal."
Raducan was allowed to keep the gold she won with the Romanian women's team and also the individual silver medal she got on the vault.
