Rashid Ramzi ( ar, رشيد رمزي) (born July 17, 1980) is a Moroccan-

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an a ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping even ...

athlete competing internationally for

in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since th ...

and

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athlet ...

. Ramzi was investigated by the

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

after the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

and was stripped of his gold medal for doping. Ramzi was born in Safi,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. After transferring to Bahrain, he ascended to the top of the Asian scene, winning gold medals at the

Asian Athletics Championships The Asian Athletics Championships is an event organized by the Asian Athletics Association. History The competition courted controversy with the IAAF when political in-fighting arose after Israel was excluded from participation in 1977. That ed ...

and the

2002 Asian Games The 2002 Asian Games ( ko, 2002년 아시아 경기대회/2002년 아시안 게임, Icheoni-nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheoni-nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the XIV Asian Games ( ko, 제14회 아시아 경기대회/제14회 아시안 � ...

. He set an Asian indoor record over 800 metres to take the silver at the

2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) were held in the Budapest Arena, Hungary between March 5 and March 7, 2004. A total off 139 countries were ...

—his first global medal—and took part in the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. He reached the peak of his discipline the following year by becoming both the 800 m and 1500 m champion at the

2005 World Championships in Athletics The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland (6 August 2005 – 14 August 2005), the site of the first IAAF ...

– the first man to ever do such a double at the competition. He failed to retain his titles at the 2007 World Championships, but still took the silver medal over 1500 m. At the

he was the recipient of the first ever medal for Bahrain at the Olympics – winning the 1500 m

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

. However, his result did not stand and he was excluded from the sport for two years after his test came back positive for the banned blood-boosting substance CERA.

Career

Early competition and transfer

Ramzi was raised in Safi, and competed internationally for

, winning the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, et ...

at the 1999 African Junior Athletics Championships and then winning at the national championships in 2001. until he joined the Bahraini armed forces and gained citizenship in 2002. Following the nationality transfer, he began competing for Bahrain immediately – he won silver at the 2002 Asian Athletics Championships and then took the 1500 m gold at the

. He scored three 1500 m gold medals at regional championships in 2003, winning at the Pan Arab Athletics Championships, the Gulf Cooperation Council Championships, and beating all opposition at the 2003 Asian Athletics Championships. The 2004 season saw him break through onto the global scene – he won

and 1500 m golds at the 2004 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships (setting an Asian record at the shorter distance) and then took the

at the

the following month, improving his 800 m area record and just finishing behind Mbulaeni Mulaudzi. Competing on the European circuit, he took his first Golden League win in the 1500 m at the

Golden Gala Golden Gala is an annual track and field event normally held at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. Following the 2013 death of Italian sprinting legend P ...

in Rome. Later that year, he represented his adopted country at the

for the first time and he reached the semi-finals of the 1500 m at the

Double world champion

At the

, Ramzi repeated the 1964 accomplishment of Peter Snell to win

s in the

800 m The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since th ...

and

1500 m The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athlet ...

at the same competition in a global competition (World Championship or Summer Olympics). He followed this with a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

at the

2006 Asian Games 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

and upgraded his next medal to the silver medal in the 1500 m at the 2007 World Championships. Ramzi won the gold at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics the next year but he was later stripped of the Olympic title.

Doping scandal

In April 2009, the

Bahrain Olympic Committee Bahrain Olympic Committee ( ar, اللجنة الأولمبية البحرينية, IOC code: BRN) is the National Olympic Committee representing Bahrain as a member of the International Olympic Committee. It was formed in 1978 and received off ...

reported that Ramzi tested positive for doping at the Beijing Games. Ramzi tested positive for CERA, an advanced version of the blood-boosting drug EPO. Ramzi’s backup “B” sample was tested on June 18, 2009 and in July 2009 it was announced Ramzi's "B" sample had tested positive as well. In November 2009, Ramzi was stripped of his gold medal. He spends much of his time in Morocco to train at high altitude (the highest point in Bahrain is only 440 ft. above sea level).

Personal bests

Achievements

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramzi, Rashid 1980 births Living people People from Safi, Morocco Bahraini male middle-distance runners Moroccan male middle-distance runners Olympic athletes of Bahrain Competitors stripped of Summer Olympics medals Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships medalists Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Asian Games Doping cases in athletics Bahraini sportspeople in doping cases Naturalized citizens of Bahrain Moroccan emigrants to Bahrain Bahraini people of Moroccan descent Asian Games gold medalists for Bahrain Asian Games silver medalists for Bahrain Asian Games bronze medalists for Bahrain Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games World Athletics Championships winners