Eleven Weightlifters Banned

 

Eleven more weightlifters, including four from Russia, have been provisionally banned over retested samples from London 2012. Six silver and bronze medallists from four years ago tested positive when their samples were looked at again.

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) said in a statement that all 11 have been provisionally suspended until their cases are closed. Natalya Zabolotnaya, Svetlana Tzarukaeva, Alexandr Ivanov and Andrey Demanov are the Russian lifters named in the latest IWF statement.

Zabolotnaya was a silver medallist at -75kg in London and has won the European title on five occasions. Ivanov and Tzarukaeva won men's -94kg and women's -63kg silver medals at the Games, while double men's -94kg European champion Demanov finished fourth.

Other medallists to fail tests include women's -75kg  Iryna Kulesha of Belarus, Armenia's +75kg competitor Hripsime Khurshudyan and Moldova's -53kg athlete Cristina Iovu. Azerbaijan's Intigam Zairov, who also tested positive in retests from Beijing, Georgia's Rauli Tsirekidze, Turkey's Sibel Simsek and Kazakhstan's Almas Uteshov are the other lifters named.

Weightlifters have produced a total of 31 positives in doping retests carried out on samples taken at the 2008 Games in Beijing and from London.