GENEVA -- German wrestler Alexander Leipold had his ban for doping cut to one year on Wednesday, but will not regain his Olympic gold medal.    In a ruling released Wednesday the Court of Arbitration for Sport cut Leipold's two-year international ban for doping to 12 months. He will be free to begin competing again in October.    The court refused to return Leipold's gold medal, which was handed to losing American finalist Brandon Slay.    The decision was a ''moral victory'' in the fight to prove the wrestler's innocence, Leipold's lawyer, Rainer Walther, told The Associated Press.    ''This is almost the same as a not-guilty decision,'' Walther said.    He said he was particularly encouraged that the court had not ordered Leipold to pay the full costs of the hearing.    ''Normally, if you lose a court case, you have to pay everything,'' said Walther. ''But Leipold has to pay just 500 francs (dlrs 284) to the court.''    Leipold tested positive for the steroid nandrolone at the Sydney Olympics after he won the 76 kilogram (167 1/2-pound) division. The Olympic medical commission said Leipold's sample showed 20 nanograms of nandrolone per milliliter of urine. The established limit is 2 nanograms per milliliter.    Walther said he had not yet received a full written explanation of the court judgment. ''We hoped for more, but we will have to wait a few weeks before we have the judgment on paper. Then we will decide what we are going to do.''    The International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles, or FILA, initially banned all German wrestlers from international competition after Leipold took part in domestic events despite the international ban. That sanction has now been lifted.    Besides being a performance boosting drug, nandrolone is also natural hormone found in the human body. Nandrolone levels can rise if a person is dehydrated or under pressure.    Scientists have suggested that athletes have been caught out by supposedly clean nutritional supplements which contain traces of the steroid.    There have been a rash of positive nandrolone tests in recent years.    Those who have tested positive include British former 100-meter Olympic champion Linford Christie, American shot-putter C.J. Hunter, Jamaican sprinter Merlene Ottey, Dutch soccer player Frank de Boer of FC Barcelona and former 5,000-meter Olympic champion Dieter Baumann of Germany.