Morocco's steeplechase world record holder Brahim Boulami said he would continue to train hard to try to clear his name following his two-year doping ban.
Boulami, 31, was banned after testing positive for the stamina-boosting substance erythropoietin (EPO), the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Wednesday.
"I'll continue to train and will prepare myself even more to demonstrate on the track that I never took any prohibited substance," he told the Morocco's MAPnews agency.
Boulami was reportedly bemused and disappointed when he heard about his ban while training in Harhoura forest outside Rabat.
Boulami smashed his own 3,000 metres steeplechase world record of seven minutes 55.28 seconds set in Brussels in 2001 when he clocked an astonishing 7:53.17 in Zurich in August 2002.
Blood and urine tests taken the previous day showed traces of EPO in his body. EPO boosts oxygen-carrying red cells in the blood.
The Moroccan Athletics Federation decided in February not to sanction Boulami because of doubts over the testing methods.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), however, filed an appeal with CAS in April to ask that the athlete receive a two-year ban in accordance with the world governing body's anti-doping rules.
Lausanne-based CAS said Boulami's ban would be backdated to start from August 28, 2002, meaning he will miss next year's Olympic Games in Athens.
However, according to MAP, Boulami said he would work with the Moroccan federation to find a way of getting a one-month waiver to allow him to compete in Greece.