There's always one! Belarus female shot putter is stripped of gold medal after failing drugs test

• Nadzeya Ostapchuk ordered to hand over gold medal after anabolic agent found in her system
• Belarus athlete won shot put gold with a throw of 21.36m
• Valerie Adams of new Zealand will now take the gold instead

After the closing ceremony bid a momentous farewell to Olympic athletes and visitors, a Belarusian shot putter has been stripped of her gold medal after failing a drugs test.
Nadzeya Ostapchuk has been ordered to hand over her medal after a banned substance was found in her system.
The Belarus athlete tested positive for anabolic agent metenolone during in-competition testing on August 5 and 6 and has been disqualified from the final results.

Stripped: Nadzeya Ostapchuk has lost her shot put medal after failing a drugs test

Give it back: The Belarusian was forced to hand her medal back after failing the test

The gold medal is instead awarded to Valerie Adams of New Zealand, with Russia's Evgeniia Kolodko now taking silver and Lijiao Gong of China elevated to bronze.
An IOC statement read: 'The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced that it has disqualified, withdrawn the medal from, and excluded Belarus's Nadzeya Ostapchuk (athletics, women's shot put) from the Games of the XXX Olympiad in London.

 

'The athlete was first requested to provide a urine sample for a doping control on 5 August. She competed the next day in the women's shot put event, where she placed first, and was asked to provide a sample straight after her competition.
'Both samples indicated the presence of metenolone, which is classified as anabolic agent under the 2012 Prohibited List.'
Ostapchuk, 31, was competing in her third Olympic Games in London, having finished fourth in Athens in 2004 and claimed bronze in Beijing four years ago.

Ostapchuk threw 21.36m with her third attempt to win last week's shot put competition comfortably from Adams (20.70m).
The Belarusian is not the only athlete to have failed a test at the 2012 Games, although there have not been many.
Russian track cyclist Victoria Baranova was sent home after a pre-Games test found traces of testosterone in her blood, and Syrian hurdler Ghfran Almouhama was sent packing after methylhexaneamine was found in her system.
Although there have been others disqualified and sent home at the London 2012 Games, Ostapchukis the first athlete to have a winning medal stripped from her.

Promotion: Valerie Adams (left) will take the gold and Evgeniia Kolodko of Russia (right) the silver

Winner: Ostapchuk's gold will go to silver medallist Valerie Adams of New Zealand

Helping hand: Ostapchuk was assisted by banned substances