Banned lifter goes missing

Traian Ciharean, the Romanian 56kg-class weightlifter who won bronze in the 1992 Olympics and who, more recently, failed a drug test and was asked to leave Sydney, has gone missing.

A spokesman for the Romanian team said that Ciharean refused to take the flight back home booked for him by the Romanian Olympic Committee, handed in the accreditation pass that allows him to enter the Olympic village, and walked out last night.

Romanian team spokesman Alex Epuran said Ciharean had refused to return home on a flight booked by his country's Olympic committee, handed in his accreditation pass and left the village last night.

Meanwhile, word is that the IOC will, later today, name two other athletes who have tested positive in out of competition testing, but have not yet arrived in Sydney. They will be told to stay away, sources say.

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