Hamilton has ban appeal rejected

<font size="2">America's Tyler Hamilton has had his appeal against atwo-year ban for doping rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport(CAS).</font>

<font size="2">Hamilton, 34, tested positive for blood transfusions at the 2004 Tour of Spain, weeks after winning Olympic gold.</font></p>

<font size="2">He had given a similar positive test in Athens, but escaped sanction when the &quot;B&quot; sample was frozen and destroyed.</font></p>

<font size="2">&quot;The US Anti-Doping Agency proved its tests... were undertaken in the approved manner,&quot; said a CAS statement.</font></p>

<font size="2">The US Anti-Doping Agency imposed a two-year ban onHamilton, who won time-trial gold in Athens, last April, but Hamiltonsaid the test used was unreliable.</font></p>

<font size="2">A blood transfusion allows athletes to increase their oxygen-rich red blood cells, thus increasing aerobic power and endurance.</font></p>

<font size="2">CAS confirmed that the ban started not in April, but in September, when Hamilton accepted a provisional suspension.</font></p>

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