The International Weightlifting Federation has released on official Public Disclosure regarding positive doping tests at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. While we had heard reports from various news sources regarding the athletes named, this is the most official announcement so far from the IWF’s end.
Polish weightlifter Tomasz Zielinksi tested positive before the Rio Games and was prohibited from competing in Brazil. The IWF disclosure reveals he tested positive for norandrosterone.
Izzat Artykov of Kyrgyzstan — originally the bronze medalist in the men’s 69kg category — tested positive for strychnine, and the test was originally reported by the BBC. The IWF has confirmed this test, and Artykov is expected to lose his medal.
Mongolia’s Chagnaadorj Usukhbayar competed in the men’s 56kg category and tested positive for supplemental testosterone.
The above three athletes have all been disqualified and had any results from Rio excluded from the official record; according to the disclosure, “the IWF is taking over the result management of their cases in terms of sanctions beyond the Olympic Games.”
Finally, in late August it was reported that men’s 85kg bronze medalist Gabriel Sincraian tested positive for a banned substance. The disclosure confirmed the substance in question was testosterone, though “There is no final decision as regards the measures and/or sanctions relating to [Sincraian’s] participation yet.”
A video of Sincraian’s performance from the 2015 World Weightlifting Championships in Houston is embedded below.
Featured image: barsophi1‘s YouTube Channel
