Speaking at an event in Melbourne, International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice president John Coates said he expects the Russian Weightlifting Federation to receive a sanction from the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) as a result of recent doping scandals.
News outlets around the globe reported on June 17th that Russia’s entire track & field team would be banned from the 2016 Rio Olympics after widespread doping allegations, including state-sponsored coverups. Now, it appears Russia’s weightlifting program could be the next to receive federation-wide sanctions and competition bans.
Earlier this week, Russian Olympic silver medalist Apti Aukhadov was reported to be one of ten weightlifters whose samples from London tested positive for doping upon retroactive analysis using new testing techniques. As a result, Aukhadov is currently under provisional suspension from the IWF, though weightlifting’s international governing body hasn’t confirmed if the rest of Russia’s team will be barred from competing in Rio.
Several other high-profile Russian lifters — including Aleksey Lovchev and Olga Zubova — are currently sanctioned by the IWF after positive tests from recent international competitions.
As reported by Reuters, the Australian Coates said he’s expecting the ban to extend to the Russian Weightlifting Federation. According to Coates:
“There may be also a sanction from international weightlifting I would expect in respect of Russian weightlifting.”
