Raducan gets heroine's welcome in Romania

Romanian gymnast Andreea Raducan was feted as a heroine with flowers, flags and a brass band when she returned home on Saturday after losing her gold medal at the Sydney Olympics because of a failed drug test.

Thousands of people at Bucharest's international airport chanted "Andreea, you are our champion forever" and "Guilty without guilt" as the gymnast disembarked to the tune of a military brass band.

President Emil Constantinescu and senior government members offered flowers to Raducan and other Romanian Olympic medallists who arrived on the same plane.

Raducan was disqualified as Olympic all-round champion after testing positive for the banned drug pseudo-ephedrine contained in a cold remedy issued by the team's doctor.

The loss of her medal, despite an acknowledgement by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that she had innocently ingested the drug in an over-the-counter remedy, set off a wave of sympathetic protests across Romania.

Companies and individuals offered money and presents to Raducan and Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu approved a decree granting her $30,000, double the amount initially offered by the government to Sydney gold medallists.

The local Jewellers' Association said it would give Raducan a 60-gram gold replica of the Olympic medal as "a small compensation for the huge moral damage she suffered in Sydney".

"I'm tired, very tired but happy to be finally home," Raducan said after landing. "I'm very touched by this warm welcome."

Her team mate Simona Amanar, who was promoted to gold medallist after Raducan's disqualification, added: "We had nice memories in Sydney but also unpleasant ones."

Romania have so far won 24 medals in Sydney, 11 of them gold, in the country's best Olympic performance.

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