Not exactly a ringing exoneration

Yahoo! Sport | Olympic champion Hamilton in the clear

Tyler Hamilton will hold on to his individual time trial gold medal. The IOC apparently damaged his 'B' sample and could neither confirm nor deny the presence of foreign red blood cells in Hamilton's blood, as suggested by an initial test in mid-August.

the result of the B, or second, test was "non-conclusive" because the sample had been destroyed by being deep-frozen.

"The disciplinary procedure has had to be stopped because of the non-conclusive result," the statement said.

"The IOC will not be pursuing sanctions regarding this matter."

Apparently, Hamilton wasn't quite so lucky with the UCI's sample from the Vuelta a España, leading Phonak to call for a panel of scientists to reexamine the new blood doping tests.