Bahrain's Olympic 1,500 metres gold medallist Rashid Ramzi and two cyclists are among six athletes to test positive for drugs at the Beijing Olympics.

Italy's road race silver medallist Davide Rebellin and German Stefan Schumacher, who is already banned for doping, were confirmed to have tested positive for CERA along with Ramzi in re-tests of samples taken in Beijing last year.

The International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday it had discovered seven more positive drugs results from re-testing samples taken from Beijing involving six athletes.

The Italian and Bahrain Olympic Committees confirmed the Rebellin and Ramzi positives while the German cycling federation said Schumacher had tested positive.

The Bahrain Olympic Committee said it would meet Ramzi, the country's first Olympic champion, to inform him of the findings and hear his explanation.

All the athletes tested positive for CERA (Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator), the new generation of the banned blood-booster erythropoietin.

The athletes, three of whom have yet to be publicly named, can now ask to have the B samples tested in their presence.

If the B samples are positive, then the athletes face two-year suspensions if they are first time offenders and possible life bans if they have been caught cheating before, like Schumacher.

Ramzi and Rebellin could also have their medals stripped and all six could be banned from the 2012 London Olympics if their international federations, responsible for any sanctions, ban them for any period longer than six months.