Kolobnev still waiting for Olympic bronze

Nearly two months after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) forced Italian Davide Rebellin to return his silver medal from the 2008 Games, Russian Alexander Kolobnev is still waiting to be officially declared the bronze medalist of the men's road race.

Rebellin was officially disqualified in November by the IOC, and returned his medal and prize winnings at the behest of the IOC and Italian Olympic Committee. He forfeited his second place after testing positive for the EPO variant CERA, although he denied having used the drug.

Kolobnev, who placed fourth behind winner Samuel Sanchez of Spain, Rebellin and Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara, has been seeking a resolution to the results. The Russian contends he should be awarded the bronze medal following Rebellin's disqualification.

According to the Spanish news wire EFE, Kolobnev appealed to the International Cycling Union to be officially declared the bronze medalist, but was turned down, the response saying that it was a matter for the IOC. The Russian released the letter to the press today to draw attention to his plight.

On the official Olympic Games site, Cancellara is still listed as the road race bronze medalist, while Rebellin's name has been removed from the silver medal position.

Rebellin has appealed the disqualification and his subsequent 2-year ban to the Court for Arbitration for Sport along with German Stefan Schumacher, who also tested positive for the same drug at the Beijing Games.