Hamilton decision soon

The International Olympic Committee will decide on the 2004 Olympic gold medal of American rider Tyler Hamilton before the end of the eight-year statute of limitation in August but is still awaiting a report by the US Anti-Doping Agency.

Hamilton, who won the time trial at the Athens Games, admitted to doping last year.
"We are still waiting for the USADA report," IOC Vice President Thomas Bach told a small group of reporters on Tuesday.

"They assured us we will get the report before the end of the eight-year period. "They (USDA) said they are aware of this," said Bach, who also heads the IOC juridical commission.

Hamilton was initially allowed to keep his medal in 2004 after testing positive for blood doping because the laboratory accidentally destroyed his B sample by deep freezing it.
The following year, Hamilton tested positive for a blood transfusion and was banned for two years.

In 2006 he was linked to the Spanish doping scandal dubbed "Operation Puerto" before testing positive for steroids three years later. He was given an eight-year ban after he said he had taken an over-the-counter treatment for depression.

In an interview last year Hamilton ended years of denials by admitting he had used performance-enhancing drugs.