 Rashid Ramzi with his silver medal for the men's 1500 metres at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing Bahrain | ||
| Men'sathletics | ||
| Summer Olympics | ||
| Disqualified | 2008 Beijing | 1500 m |
| World Championships | ||
 | 2005 Helsinki | 800 m |
| 2005 Helsinki | 1500 m |
 | 2007 Osaka | 1500 m |
| Asian Games | ||
| 2002 Busan | 1500 m |
 | 2006 Doha | 1500 m |
| 2014 Incheon | 1500 m |
| Asian Championships | ||
| 2003 Manila | 1500 m |
| 2002 Colombo | 1500 m |
Rashid Ramzi (Arabic:رشيد رمزي) (born July 17, 1980[1]) is aMoroccan-Bahrainitrack and field athlete competing internationally forBahrain in the800 metres and1500 metres. Ramzi was investigated by theIAAF after the2008 Summer Olympics and was stripped of his gold medal for doping.[2]
Ramzi was born inSafi,Morocco. After transferring to Bahrain, he ascended to the top of the Asian scene, winning gold medals at theAsian Athletics Championships and the2002 Asian Games. He set anAsian indoor record over 800 metres to take the silver at the2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships—his first global medal—and took part in the2004 Athens Olympics. He reached the peak of his discipline the following year by becoming both the 800 m and 1500 m champion at the2005 World Championships in Athletics – the first man to ever do such a double at the competition.
He failed to retain his titles at the2007 World Championships, but still took the silver medal over 1500 m. At the2008 Summer Olympics he was the recipient of the first-ever medal forBahrain at the Olympics – winning the 1500 mgold medal. 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 substanceCERA.
Ramzi was raised inSafi, and competed internationally forMorocco, winning the1500 metressilver medal at the1999 African Junior Athletics Championships and then winning at the national championships in 2001.[3][4] until he joined the Bahraini armed forces and gained citizenship in 2002.[5]
Following the nationality transfer, he began competing for Bahrain immediately – he won silver at the2002 Asian Athletics Championships and then took the 1500 m gold at the2002 Asian Games. He scored three 1500 m gold medals at regional championships in 2003, winning at thePan Arab Athletics Championships, theGulf Cooperation Council Championships, and beating all opposition at the2003 Asian Athletics Championships.[6][7]
The 2004 season saw him break through onto the global scene – he won800 metres and 1500 m golds at the2004 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships (setting anAsian record at the shorter distance) and then took thesilver medal at the2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships the following month, improving his 800 m area record and just finishing behindMbulaeni Mulaudzi. Competing on the European circuit, he took his firstGolden League win in the 1500 m at theGolden Gala in Rome. Later that year, he represented his adopted country at the2008 Summer Olympics for the first time and he reached the semi-finals of the 1500 m at the2004 Athens Olympics.
At the2005 World Championships in Athletics, Ramzi repeated the 1964 accomplishment ofPeter Snell to wingold medals in the800 m and1500 m at the same competition in a global competition (World Championship or Summer Olympics).
He followed this with abronze medal at the2006 Asian Games and upgraded his successive medal to the silver medal in the 1500 m at the2007 World Championships. Ramzi won the gold at the2008 Beijing Summer Olympics the next year but he was later stripped of the Olympic title.
In April 2009, theBahrain Olympic Committee reported that Ramzi tested positive for doping at the Beijing Games. Ramzi tested positive forCERA, an advanced version of the blood-boosting drugEPO. 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.[8][9]
He spends much of his time in Morocco to train at high altitudes (thehighest point in Bahrain is only 440 ft. above sea level).[citation needed]
| Distance | Mark | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 800 m | 1:44.05 | July 17, 2006 | Madrid, Spain |
| 1,500 m | 3:29.14 | July 14, 2006 | Rome, Italy |
| 1 mile | 3:51.33 | June 4, 2005 | Eugene, Oregon, United States |
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing Morocco | ||||
| 1999 | African Junior Championships | Tunis, Tunisia | 2nd | 1500 m |
| Representing Bahrain | ||||
| 2002 | Asian Championships | Colombo, Sri Lanka | 2nd | 1500 m |
| Asian Games | Busan, South Korea | 1st | 1500 m | |
| 2003 | Gulf Cooperation Council Championships | Kuwait City, Kuwait | 1st | 1500 m |
| Asian Championships | Manila, Philippines | 1st | 1500 m | |
| Pan Arab Championships | Amman, Jordan | 1st | 1500 m | |
| 2004 | Asian Indoor Championships | Tehran, Iran | 1st | 800 m |
| 1st | 1500 m | |||
| World Indoor Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 2nd | 800 m | |
| Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 11th (semis) | 1500 m | |
| 2005 | World Cross Country Championships | Saint-Galmier, France | 32nd | Short race |
| World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 1st | 800 m | |
| 1st | 1500 m | |||
| World Athletics Final | Monte Carlo, Monaco | 8th | 1500 m | |
| 2006 | Asian Games | Doha, Qatar | 3rd | 1500 m |
| 2007 | World Championships | Osaka, Japan | 8th (semis) | 800 m |
| 2nd | 1500 m | |||
| 2008 | World Indoor Championships | Valencia, Spain | 5th | 1500 m |
| Summer Olympics | Beijing, China | 1st (DQ) | 1500 m | |
| 2014 | Asian Games | Incheon, South Korea | 2nd | 1500 m |
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