IOC strips 4 medals from 2004 Athens Games for doping, postpones decision on Armstrong medal

LAUSANNE, Switzerland – The IOC has stripped medals from four athletes caught doping at the 2004 Athens Olympics — including one gold medallist — and postponed a decision to revoke Lance Armstrong’s bronze from the 2000 Sydney Games.

The IOC on Wednesday disqualified four athletes whose Athens doping samples were retested earlier this year and came back positive, including shot put gold medallist Yuriy Bilonog of Ukraine.

The others are hammer throw silver medlist Ivan Tskikhan of Belarus and two bronze medallists — women’s shot putter Svetlana Krivelyova of Russia and discus thrower Irina Yatchenko of Belarus.

The case of a fifth bronze medallist , weightlifter Oleg Perepechenov of Russia, remains pending.

The IOC put off a final decision on stripping Armstrong of the bronze medal he won in the road time trial in Sydney.

The IOC wants the medal back following the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s report that led to Armstrong being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.

But the IOC said it will wait for cycling’s governing body UCI to formally notify Armstrong of the loss of all his results since August 1998.