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Romania Olympic chief quits as Raducan medal appeal turned down
SYDNEY, Sept 28 (AFP) - Heartbroken gymnast Andreea Raducan vowed to return stronger than ever after losing her battle to win back her Olympic gold medal here Thursday. Raducan, who was stripped of the medal after being disqualified for ingesting a stimulant contained in an over-the-counter cold remedy, was defiant after a court tossed out her appeal. "My whole dream in my life was to come to the Olympics and maybe win a medal. I'm sorry that I can't do that -- but life goes on and I just have to get over it as soon as I can," said the tiny Raducan, who turns 17 on Saturday. "I know we did a good job here. I lost a medal but in my soul I know that was my place (first)," she added. "I'm not going to stop here. I'm going to prove to everybody that I can go even higher than here in Sydney, to prove to people that I am the person that I am. "I'm very disappointed with the result. It's not for me to judge the decision of the court. But I know in my heart I didn't do anything wrong and I am at peace. Raducan was flanked at the press conference by her idol Nadia Comaneci, Montreal 1976 Olympic gold medallist as well as team-mates Simona Amanar and Maria Olaru. Comaneci slammed the decision to withhold Raducan's medal. "I don't see how they can say 'You're innnocent, but we're still going to keep your medal'. I don't think that's fair." Raducan's gold medal will now go to teammate Amanar. Amanar's silver goes to bronze medallist Olaru. Earlier reports said the two gymnasts would refused the medals but Amanar said she would now keep the gold. "For me this medal does not mean anything. I'm going to accept it only because it belongs to Romania but I don't want it. It belongs to Andreea -- the Olympic champion on that day was her, not me." Olaru echoed Amanar's remarks, describing her elevation from the bronze medal position to the silver spot as pointless. "Making me the Olympic vice-champion doesn't mean anything to me and I don't accept it. The Olympic champion is Andreea and the silver medal is Simona's. I don't understand why it is the little people who suffer for the mistakes of the big people," Olaru said. Romania Olympic Committee chief Ion Tiriac vowed to resign following the case. Tiriac, a successful businessman and former manager of tennis star Boris Becker, said he had no choice but to quit. He had earlier stated that any athlete testing positive for banned substances at the Olympics should be banned for life. He also criticised the IOC's zero-tolerance drug stance as too inflexible. "I believe in the IOC's fight against doping, but sooner or later we have to put our hands on our hearts...we have to be human enough that if we make a mistake, we admit it.
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