U.S. cyclist Hamilton formally stripped of gold

London, England – Former United States cyclist Tyler Hamilton has been officially stripped of his Olympic gold medal from the 2004 Athens Games.

Hamilton had won the men's individual time trial that year, and failed a blood doping test after the games. However, because there were no results from the backup sample due to improper storage, he was allowed to keep his medal.

He actually returned his gold medal last year, and in June he asked the International Olympic Committee to withdraw his name from the record books.

The formal step of erasing that result means that Russia's Viatcheslav Ekimov was given the gold, while American Bobby Julich became the silver medalist. Australia's Michael Rogers moved up to bronze from fourth.

Hamilton was also disqualified from the 2004 road race, though he didn't medal in it.

Hamilton's career went on to be marked by drug scandal. In 2005, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency gave him a two-year suspension, and he was issued an eight- year ban in 2008 that effectively ended his career.

Last year, Hamilton made an appearance on CBS' "60 Minutes" and admitted to doping in his career, while also saying he witnessed seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong use performance-enhancing substances. Hamilton testified before a grand jury as part of a federal investigation in 2010.