Cyclist Admits Doping, Gives Back Gold; Stiff Competition for Top 2012 Tickets

Hamilton Admits Doping, Gives Back Gold

Olympic champion cyclist and admitted doper Tyler Hamilton has given back his gold medal, the IOC confirms.

"The IOC has been in touch with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which indicated that the athlete has already rendered his gold medal — Athens 2004 time-trial race — and that they are currently pursuing an inquiry," an IOC spokesperson said in a statement to The New York Times.

"The IOC has taken note of Hamilton’s confession and will, of course, study any potential Games-related implications."

The Wall Street Journal first broke the news Friday, a day after Hamilton revealed to CBS News that he witnessed seven-time Tour de France winner and ex-teammate Lance Armstrong inject himself with banned performance-enhancing drug EPO on repeat occasions.

The complete interview with Hamilton, 40, is expected to air Sunday night on "60 Minutes".

The cyclist from Marblehead, Massachusetts failed his second drug test in Feb. 2009 and accepted an eight-year ban from USADA later that year.

Hamilton’s doping confession is also among the revelations from Thursday night’s teaser, prompting Armstrong to prematurely tweet: "Congratulations to Viatcheslav Ekimov on his 3rd Olympic Gold Medal!"

Ekimov, the Athens runner-up, is another former member of the U.S. Postal Service team.

Armstrong, meanwhile, is in the midst of a federal grand jury inquiry in Los Angeles.

Jeff Novitzky, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration agent who led the case against Marion Jones, is investigating whether Armstrong doped while a member of the U.S. Postal Service team from 1999 to 2004.

Despite recent allegations from disgraced former teammate Floyd Landis and now Hamilton, Armstrong has always denied using performance-enhancing drugs of any kind.

Stiff Competition for 100m FinalTickets

More than one million Olympic ticket hopefuls are in the running for the men’s 100m final at London 2012.

Though a sport-by-sport breakdown of demand isn’t expected from organizers until at least next month, BBC News reported Friday that more than half of the 1.8 million British citizens to apply ahead of the April 27 deadline put in requests for the showcase event.

Top tickets for track and field finals are the priciest sports events of these Games at $1,165 apiece for evening sessions on Aug. 5 (men’s 100m and women’s 400m), Aug. 10 (men’s 4x400m and women’s 4x100m) and Aug. 11 (men’s 4x100m andwomen’s 4x400m). Cheap seats for each of the three nights cost $80.

As with every other oversubscribed session, a lottery will determine who gets the roughly 40,000 seats up for public consumption. Sponsors, VIPs and media account for the Olympic Stadium’s remaining capacity.

Bidders are expected to find out June 24 which, if any, of the total available tickets they will receive – and pay for.

Last 2012 Competition Venue Named

Venue confirmation is now complete for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

LOCOG announced Friday that historic racing circuit Brands Hatch will stage Paralympic cycling’s road race and trial events.

"This will help us extend the Games outside London and will give spectators and athletes the chance to discover yet another stunning part of our country," LOCOG chair Sebastian Coe said in a statement.

"This venue will really bring the magic of the Games to life for thousands of spectators."

Team Great Britain’s cyclists won 20 medals, 17 of them gold, at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

The 2012 course will begin and end on the former F1 Grand Prix circuit itself. In between, riders will make use of county roads in surrounding Kent.

Written by Matthew Grayson.