Russian weightlifters facing Games ban

Russian weightlifters could be banned from the Rio Olympics after failed retests from 2008 and 2012 taken by the sport's governing body.

Russia's weightlifters face being banned from the Rio Olympics, subject to confirmation by the International Olympic Committee, in another collective doping punishment to hit the country.

Five days after its track and field team's suspension from the 2016 Games was upheld, Russia's weightlifters are now facing the prospect of being barred from going to Rio in August.

Belarus and weightlifting superpower Kazakhstan were also banned over failed retests from 2008 and 2012 on Wednesday by the sport's governing body, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF).

The IWF also punished other nations by reducing the number of available athlete slots in Rio.

Retrospective doping tests carried out by the IOC have led to 17 positives from the 2008 and 2012 Games being announced by the IWF, which believes there may be more cases to come.

The IWF is awaiting confirmation of those failures and a final tally from the IOC, who were not immediately available when contacted late on Wednesday by Reuters.


Share

1 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world