SYDNEY, SEPTEMBER 28: Teenage Romanian gymnast Andreea Raducan lost her appeal today against the removal of her Olympic all-round gold medal for failing a drugs test after taking a common cold cure.A three-person panel of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that Olympic anti-doping regulations took precedence over other considerations."The panel is aware of the impact of its decision on a fine, young athlete," the cas said in a statement. "It finds, in balancing the interests of Miss Raducan with the commitment of the Olympic movement to drug-free sport, the anti-doping code must be enforced without compromise."Raducan, who will be 17 on Saturday, tested positive for the banned stimulant pseudo-ephedrine after winning the women's artistic all-round invidual gold on September 21.Her disqualification set off a wave of sympathy for the petite athlete after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) acknowledged that she had innocently ingested the drug in an over-the-counter cold remedy administered by her team doctor.Romanian team spokesman Alex Epuran said Raducan, one of the stars of the Sydney Games, would be shattered by the news."I think she will be heartbroken. I am," Epuran told Reuters.IOC director-general Francois Carrard said: "It was a very difficult decision to take for the IOC board. This ruling demonstrates that it had no option."
