Olympics: Heptathlon Silver-medallist Blonksa Tests Positive Drug Test

The Ukrainian athlete Lyudmila Blonska, winner of the silver medal in the Olympic heptathlon, has tested positive during a doping test, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has confirmed. A disciplinary procedure into Blonska has been opened by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its disciplinary commission and executive board is expected to deliver its verdict on Thursday. Blonska served a two-year ban for testing positive for steroids in 2003 and, if found guilty, may face a lifetime ban.

Lamine Diack, president of the IAAF, said he had been notified of the positive result by the IOC medical director Patrick Schamasch. "Yes, I've just been informed," Diack said. "Schamasch phoned me to say this athlete tested positive. The process is under way." A second B sample will now be examined to confirm the findings.

Blonska won her silver medal last Saturday, finishing behind compatriot Nataliia Dobrynska. However, if she is found guilty of taking performance-enhancing drugs, Blonska would be stripped of her medal and be kicked out of the Olympics for life. American Hyleas Fountain and Russia's Tatiana Chernova, who finished third and fourth respectively, would each be promoted a position, with Fountain taking silver and Chernova winning bronze.

Britain's Kelly Sotherton, however, finished in fifth and does not stand to move into a medal-winning position. Sotherton, who has long maintained that Blonska used drugs, had previously said she was glad that Blonska did not win the gold. "I'm pleased her team-mate beat her," Sotherton said last Saturday. "That makes it bittersweet. I'd have been really upset if she'd won gold. The penalty you should pay if you take drugs is not to compete at the Olympics."

Last year Sotherton spoke out against Blonska, saying: "It's hard to trust someone who has failed a test. When they come back and are still improving, it's even harder."

Four athletes have been disqualified and expelled from the Beijing Olympics so far for positive drug tests.