Weightlifting’s governing body yesterday banned Kazakhstan’s double Olympic champion Ilya Ilyin and three other gold medallists for failing dope tests at the 2012 London Olympics.
Ten lifters in all were banned after dozens of London samples were retested.
The International Weightlifting Federation reported on June 6 that re-analysis of samples from the 2008 Beijing Games had detected a further 10 suspect cases.
Kazakhstan’s biggest Olympic hero, Ilyin took 94kg gold in Beijing and London and was to go for a third straight title in Rio de Janeiro in August. He tested positive for anabolic steroids.
Three other Kazakh gold medallists from London — Zulfiya Chinshanlo (53 kg), Maiya Maneza (63 kg) and Svetlana Podobedova (73 kg) — also failed tests and were banned, the IWF said.
Others include Azerbaijan’s 58kg world champion Boyanka Kostova and Russia’s London 85kg silver medal winner Apti Aukhadov.
The International Olympic Committee’s disciplinary commission “will meet soon to rule if the athletes have to return their medals and to determine whether they can go to Rio,” the Kazakhstan weightlifting federation said in a statement.
Kazakhstan’s National Olympic Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ilyin confirmed to Kazakh media yesterday that he would contest the suspension and continue to prepare for Rio.
Pavel Novikov, the former vice-president of Kazakhstan’s National Olympic Committee, told AFP he was surprised at the suspensions and attributed them to “conflicts within the Olympic movement”.
“For some reason, tests for banned drugs are only of interest for athletes who have represented and represent countries of the former Soviet Union,” Novikov said. “We see that there is a political push to discredit the major sporting achievements of former Soviet Union countries,” he added.
The IOC said this month that Olympic medallists from the Beijing and London Games were being targeted as a priority as the reanalysis of old samples was reinforced.
The IOC also said its budget for anti-doping tests is being doubled to $500,000 (447,000 euros) between now and August’s Olympics in Rio.