Hungarian Fazekas opts to retire
 |  Fazekas' joy at winning the Olympic discus title proved short-lived |
| |
BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Hungary's Robert Fazekas, who was stripped of the Olympic discus gold he won in Athens after a doping offense, has announced his retirement.
Fazekas won the gold on August 23 before being expelled from the Games 24 hours later for tampering with his doping test sample.
Thousands of people demonstrated in support of Fazekas in his home town of Szombathely after his expulsion.
The 29-year-old reigning world and European champions said he had retired to avoid a ban due to be imposed on Wednesday by Hungary's athletics federation.
The federation banned Fazekas and disgraced Olympic hammer champion Adrian Annus for two years on September 30.
Both athletes had appealed against the rulings.
"If they banned me, it would have had a bad influence on my hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) so I decided to call it a day," Fazekas said.
The Lausanne-based CAS is expected to hold its hearing on Fazekas's doping case in February.
Annus was stripped of his gold and banned for two years by the International Olympic Committee after analysis of the samples he provided in Athens showed evidence of belonging to two different athletes.
