Disgraced Cyclist's Golden Gesture Believed to Be Olympic First

(ATR) Olympic champion cyclist Tyler Hamilton is believed to be the first athlete to voluntarily give up an Olympic medal prior to a doping conviction.

Hamilton, winner of road cycling’s time-trial race at Athens 2004, made headlines worldwide Friday by relinquishing his gold medal to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

"The medal was provided to USADA by Mr. Hamilton," USADA spokesperson Annie Skinner tells Around the Rings, "and we will work with the IOC and the USOC as appropriate concerning the final implications of our overall investigation."

Skinner declined to elaborate on the current whereabouts of the medal – USADA is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado – as well as what Hamilton said when making the golden gesture.

Why he gave the medal to USADA in the first place also remains to be seen.

"Normal procedure would be for the medal to come to the USOC," U.S. Olympic Committee spokesperson Patrick Sandusky tells ATR. "When a medal is returned to the IOC, it is generally returned through the NOC."

However, the IOC has neither asked for the medal back nor actually stripped Hamilton, as IOC vice president Thomas Bach suggested could happen Friday in an interview with The Associated Press.

The IOC still must form a disciplinary commission to investigate this curious case of doping. For now, Hamilton is simply – and officially – a gold medalist without his medal, and a lot must still happen in order for that to change.

"The IOC has taken note of Hamilton's confession and will of course study any potential Games-related implications," an IOC spokesperson tells ATR.

"The IOC has been in touch with USADA which indicated that the athlete has already rendered his gold medal - Athens 2004 time-trial race - and that they are currently pursuing an inquiry. The IOC will be awaiting their findings and is also in contact with UCI for further information."

Hamilton relinquished the medal after he revealed to CBS News that he witnessed seven-time Tour de France winner and ex-teammate Lance Armstrong inject himself with banned performance-enhancing drug EPO on repeat occasions.

The complete interview with Hamilton, 40, aired Sunday night on "60 Minutes".

Hamilton’s own doping confession is also among the revelations from the hour-long special, prompting Armstrong to prematurely tweet: "Congratulations to Viatcheslav Ekimov on his 3rd Olympic Gold Medal!"

Whether Ekimov, the Athens runner-up and another former member of the U.S. Postal Service team, will ever actually receive Hamilton’s gold remains up to the IOC.

Written by Matthew Grayson.