Morgan's golden touch

Morgan has competed at six Commonwealth Games

Welsh weightlifter David Morgan belatedly received his two Commonwealth Games gold medals on Thursday.

Morgan found out in August that rival Satheesha Rai had been stripped of the medals after failing a routine drugs test.

The Indian had beaten Morgan to gold in the clean-and-jerk and combined categories in the 77kg class in Manchester.

It's kind of bizarre to get them so long after the Commonwealth Games

David Morgan

But Rai tested positive for strychnine, a prohibited substance under the International Olympic Committee's class of stimulants, and also failed the conclusive 'B' sample.

Morgan received his just reward at a special ceremony at the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff, with First Minister Rhodri Morgan presenting the medals.

"It was almost a surprise to get the gold medals as it seems a long time ago that I competed in Manchester," the weightlifter said.

"It's kind of bizarre to get them so long after the Commonwealth Games but I knew that I had the golds three weeks afterwards."

Morgan's golden bonus

Morgan was grateful that there had been a ceremony to give him the two golds, as he hadn't wanted to just receive them through the post

Morgan has now won nine gold medals at six consecutive Commonwealth Games - putting him just one behind the all-time gold record held by Australian swimmers Ian Thorpe and Susie O'Neill.

The Cambridge-based lifter, 38, announced his retirement from the sport after the Games but said that he hadn't completely ruled out another comeback.

Weightlifter tests positive

Morgan retired in 1990, only to come back for the '94 Games, announced his retirement again but then couldn't resist another crack at the medals in '98.

"I'm still going to do the Masters because I actually enjoy weightlifting - although that might seem abvious after 20 years," he added.

Morgan has won at least one medal in every Games he has appeared in, starting with gold at the age of 17 in Brisbane in 1982.

Another gold followed in Edinburgh 1986, three more in Auckland 1990, two more golds and a silver in Victoria 1994, then a silver four years later in Kuala Lumpur.