Turkey bans 31 athletes for doping

At least three of the athletes competed at the 2012 London Olympics, including hammer thrower Esref Apak, the 2004 silver medallist.

Apak of Turkey competes during the men's hammer throw qualifying event at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Daegu

Apak of Turkey competes during the men's hammer throw qualifying event at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Daegu

Bans had been expected after the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) conducted a large number of tests ahead of and during the Mediterranean Games in the Turkish city of Mersin in June.

Apak was one of eight athletes who tested positive following the European Team Championships in Gateshead the same month.

Last week, TAF chairman Mehmet Terzi resigned from the post he had held for nine years in the face of doping allegations directed at Turkish sportsmen and women.

"The athletes were found to be in violation of Turkey's strict anti-doping laws following testing undertaken by the Turkish anti-doping authority (TADA)," Ugur Erderner, president of Turkey's National Olympic Committee and a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) executive board, said in a statement.

"TADA conducted the tests either as part of their own anti-doping programmes, or in conjunction with the IAAF and WADA.

"This work is part of a concerted, and much more aggressive, anti-doping policy in Turkey that has been in place for over six months and will be further reinforced with the re-accreditation of the WADA-licensed anti-doping laboratory in Ankara later this year."

Erderner said an anti-doping education programme would be introduced in schools and colleges.

"Turkey has zero tolerance for doping and it is our intention to have clean, young athletes competing on the international sporting stage in the future."

The TAF listed the names of the suspended athletes on its website, without giving details of their offences.

Istanbul is bidding to host the 2020 Olympics.

(Reporting by Josh Reich in London; Editing by Clare Fallon)


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters


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