(ATR) Three Romanian weightlifters – two of them medal winners at the London 2012 Games – have been sanctioned by the IOC for retroactive anti-doping violations.
The IOC delegated the athletes’ samples to be reanalyzed and the results management handled by the International Testing Agency (ITA).
London 2012 silver medalist Roxana Cocos, 31, and bronze medalist Razvan Martin, 28, were disqualified for positive tests detecting multiple steroids after reanalysis of anti-doping samples. The athletes, both of whom competed in the 69kg class, must forfeit their medals.
A third Romanian weightlifter, Gabriel Sincraian, was also sanctioned for an anti-doping infraction and his result disqualified, however he failed to finish in the 85kg class competition.
Martin tested positive for the prohibited substance Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, while all three athletes were detected for the substances Metenolone and Stanozolol.
Chairman Denis Oswald, Juan Antonio Samaranch and Ingmar De Vos comprise the IOC Disciplinary Commission for the cases and issued the verdict.
The athletes were given the option for an appeal to either the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) or the IOC Disciplinary Commission. The choice is given as Anti-Doping Rules (ADR) for London 2012 still apply for cases that arise from the current reanalysis. Since the three Romanian weightlifters did not choose to go to CAS, the cases are automatically handled by the IOC Commission.
The Romanian Olympic Committee is requested to return the two medals to the IOC as soon as possible, as the decision by the IOC Disciplinary Commission is entered into force immediately.
All four members of Romania’s weightlifting team at the London 2012 Olympics have now been disqualified for doping.
The latest sanctions bring the total of London doping cases to 77, five more than at the 2008 Beijing Games.
The International Weightlifting Federation is requested to modify the results and re-distribute the medals accordingly as a result of the decision.
North Korean lifter Kim Myong-hyok could be upgraded from fourth to the bronze medal as a result of Martin’s disqualification. Anna Nurmukhambetova of Kazakhstan and Ubaldina Valoyes of Colombia are next in line to be upgraded for silver and bronze medals as a result of Cocos’ disqualification.
The positive doping tests are another blow to the embattled IWF, which the IOC has said is at risk of losing its Olympic status for the Paris 2024 Games unless it overhauls its doping program and governance.
Homepage photo: Global Athlete
Written by Brian Pinelli
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