Hamilton cleared by error

Initial tests carried out in Athens indicated the time-trial champion had received an endurance-boosting blood transfusion.

Hamilton, though, was allowed to keep his gold when his back-up sample was mistakenly frozen, leaving too few red blood cells to analyse.

The cyclist has denied ever having used a blood transfusion but still faces a two-year ban following a failed doping test in the Tour of Spain.

"The Hamilton case, obviously there was a mistake made and the error that was made, if it can't be remedied, will lead to an athlete retaining a medal that we would probably say should not have happened," WADA director general Dave Howman told Reuters.

"I don't think there's any doubt an error was made. There has been a mistake made and we've taken the steps of writing to the laboratory asking for appropriate remedial action.

"What everybody knows occurred. The rest will depend on what happens in the Court of Arbitration for Sport."

A detailed 116-page report by WADA independent observers detailed a long list of errors in judgement and procedures in the Hamilton case, several the result of laboratory techniques and processes being used for the first time.

The report stated that an "apparent series of errors or misunderstandings have occurred such that an A-sample that was originally declared negative but later positive was ultimately unable to be acted upon."

A series of compounding misunderstandings or errors meant that a situation that might have been able to be retrieved at a number of points was ultimately lost and, depending on one's perspective, either an athlete who engaged in doping practices was able to escape or an innocent athlete was unfairly implicated in doping, concluded the report.

The report also raised several disturbing questions.

Why was the chair of the IOC medical commissioner not consulted in what could at the least be regarded as a "confusing" report? Particularly that it involved a gold medallist and concerned the first case of an alleged blood transfusion.

The independent observers made several recommendations, including an increase in the number of tests on athletes competing in team events.

Despite a significant increase in Athens, the report believes the concentration of testing in team sports remains considerably less than individual sports.

Independent observers said they would also like to see an increase in target testing, a quick response protocol that allows for checks when suspicious circumstances appear to exist.

The target group for target testing in Athens included athletes who had abandoned a competition because of disqualification.

The use of target testing in Athens, helped by reliable anonymously submitted tips, led to the discovery of drug cheats and the revocation of two gold medals.

A total of 3,505 samples were tested in Athens producing a record 24 doping offences and seven medals, including three golds, being revoked.