Friday 28 October 2016

IOC disqualifies nine from Beijing 2008 Olympics

The International Olympic Committee has sanctioned a further nine athletes, including six medal winners, after they tested positive following the reanalysis of samples from the Beijing Olympics.The IOC has been working its way through a backlog of cases uncovered by the more than 1200 samples it retested from Beijing 2008 and London 2012 in the build-up to the Rio Games. This week it published
further decisions with regards to several failed tests for the prohibited substance dehydrochlormethyltestosterone (Turinabol) from Beijing, which it was said “could not be identified by the analysis performed at the time of these editions of the Olympic Games”. They included Uzbekistan wrestler Soslan Tigiev, who won silver in the under-74kg freestyle event; Ekaterina Volkova, Russia’s bronze medallist in the women’s 3000m steeplechase; Ukrainian women’s over-75kg lifter Olha Korobka, who won silver; and Taimuraz Tigiyev of Kazakhstan, runner-up in the final of the 84-96kg freestyle wrestling event.

Also disqualified are Belarus weightlifter Nastassia Novikava, bronze medallist in the women’s 53kg division, who tested positive for both Turinabol and Stanozolol, along with Andrei Rybakou of Belarus, awarded silver in the men’s 85kg weightlifting.

Other athletes whose results will be expunged are Azerbaijan weightlifter Sardar Hasanov, following a positive test for Turinabol, Spanish 100m hurdler Josephine Nnkiruka Onyia, for methylhexanamine, and Cuban long jumper Wilfredo Martinez, who had finished fifth, for the prohibited substance acetazolamide.

An IOC statement said: ‘‘The protection of clean athletes and the fight against doping are top priorities for the IOC.

‘‘To provide a level playing field for all clean athletes at Rio 2016, the IOC put special measures in place, including targeted pre-tests and the reanalysis of stored samples from Beijing 2008 and London 2012, following an intelligence-gathering process that started in August 2015.”

Last week, two athletes — Russian weightlifter Apti Aukhadov and Ukrainian pole vaulter Maksym Mazuryk — were disqualified from London 2012 following positive retests for Turinabol.

Meanwhile, the second part of Richard McLaren’s report on allegations state-backed doping in Russia is expected to be released in December.

“Professor Richard McLaren announces that he expects to release the McLaren Investigation Report, Part II, by mid-December 2016,” said a statement from the World Anti-Doping Agency. “More details will follow in the weeks ahead.”

It had been thought that McLaren’s latest report might be released before WADA’s board meeting on November 19-20.

WADA commissioned two reports from the Canadian law professor, the first to determine the facts with respect to allegations of Russian state manipulation of the doping control process made by Grigory Rodchenkov, the former director of the WADA-accredited laboratory in Moscow.

McLaren found evidence of a government-backed scheme in Russia said to include tampering with doping tests at their home Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

Thirty sports were caught up in the controversy, leading to a ban on Russian athletics from international competition and the ban of dozens of Russian competitors in a variety of sports at Rio.

IOC disqualifies nine from Beijing 2008 Olympics

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