The first positive doping test emerged at the 2003 Pan American Games, stealing the spotlight from men's tennis gold medalist Fernando Meligeni of Brazil.
Letitia Vriesde of Suriname, the women's 800m winner and a former Olympian, was stripped of her gold medal after testing positive for excessive levels of caffeine, Pan American Sports Organization president Mario Vasquez Rana said Sunday.
"She would have needed to drink five gallons of coffee for that level of caffeine to be found in her system," Vasquez Rana said.
Vasquez Rana said Vriesde admitted her guilt, and added that he feared there could be another case.
"The laboratories return the results 24 hours after we send them and nothing came in yesterday's shipment. When one doesn't come back, it's a sign that something's not right," he said.
Vasquez Rana said any doping case hurts the image of a competition, but emphasized that only one case has proved positive from 300.
Suriname Olympic Committee chairman Gerard van Dijk said the disappointment would be hard to come to terms with.
"I don't know how we as a nation should deal with this," Van Dijk said. "This comes so shortly after that moment of glory a few days ago and to have that moment taken away like this is painful."
Adriana Munoz of Cuba will now get the gold in the 800m and Marian Burnette of Guyana will get silver. Christiana Ritz of Brazil was moved up to third place and the bronze medal.
The scandal overshadowed the ninth day of competition and Meligeni's stirring come back after saving seven match points against former world No. 1 Marcelo Rios of Chile.
In the women's final, Milagros Sequera of Venezuela beat Sarah Taylor of the US 7-5, 4-6, 6-1.
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