THE Italian high jumper, Antonella Bevilacqua, has had her fourth-place finish at the Olympic Games erased from the record books after she was yesterday retroactively disqualified for a doping offence.

An International Amateur Athletic Federation arbitration panel in Monte Carlo decided she should have served a three-month ban after twice testing positive for the banned stimulant ephedrine in May. As the suspension covers the period from May 26th to August 25th, which included the Games, she should not have been allowed to compete in Atlanta.

The IAAF wanted to suspend Bevilacqua before the Olympics, but the Italian national federation refused to impose the ban because they claimed that Bevilacqua had taken the banned product unwittingly. She was allowed to compete in Atlanta after the IAAF's legal advisers said they could be sued.

Bevilacqua tested positive for ephedrine on May 4th in Milan and again on May 26th at the Italian championships in Bologna. The IAAF ruled she was guilty of only one offence because she was not aware of the first positive result until the second was announced. The decision means the Russian Yelena Gulyayeva moves up to fourth place in Atlanta.