(ATR) Weightlifters from Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus face suspension from the Rio Olympics for doping violations.
The International Weightlifting Federation said the countries could be suspended for one year, subject to ratification by the IOC, after failed retests from Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympics doping samples. The lifters have yet to be named.
The ban will be enforced if the IOC confirms the lifters' "B" samples have tested positive for banned drugs.
"The IWF Executive Board has decided that national federations confirmed to have produced three or more anti-doping rule violations in the combined re-analysis process of the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games shall be suspended for one year," the federation said in a statement. The decision is part of the federation’s Special Anti-Doping Policy for Rio 2016.
Meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia the IWF Executive Board restated its support for the IOC’s crackdown on doping cheats ahead of this summer’s Games.
"Protecting clean athletes by standing up against those who do not comply with the rules remains and will continue to remain crucial for the IWF," it said in a statement.
Only last week, the IWF announced that 10 lifters, including four London Olympic weightlifting champions from Kazakhstan, were set to be banned from Rio 2016 after retests revealed doping at the 2012 Games.
The IWF Executive Board has also penalized other nations for multiple doping offenses in 2015 – a record 24 positive tests came at the world championships in Houston. North Korea, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Romania have had their athlete quotas cut for Rio. A total of 11 slots have been withdrawn from six teams.
The IWF decision is another blow for Russia’s medal hopes at the Rio Games, coming two days after the IOC upheld the IAAF’s suspension of Russia’s athletics team from Rio.
Russian sport minister Vitaly Mutko was quick to criticize the IWF’s decision to ban Russian lifters from Rio.
"It is a psychotic episode, as if it is dictated, accompanied by a departure from the principals and norms," R-Sport quoted Mutko as saying. "How can you punish a team which should go to the Olympic Games in 2016 for violations from 2008 or 2012? I don't know."
In addition to handing down sanctions, the weightlifting federation said it was creating an Independent Investigation Commission to investigate countries with three or anti-doping rule violations per year including those punished in reanalysis of the 2008 and 2012 Games samples.
The IWF also said it will carry out additional drug tests in the coming weeks "with the aim to test all possible participants prior to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games".
"The IWF Executive Board is determined to continue with the application of its strict system of sanctions and elaborating further sport specific rules in order to protect the clean athletes and the integrity of the sport of weightlifting," the federation’s statement concluded.
Reported by Mark Bisson
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