Belarus to Seek Gold Medalist’s Reinstatement

© RIA Novosti . Grigoriy Sisoev / Go to the mediabankNadzeya Ostapchuk
Nadzeya Ostapchuk - Sputnik International
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Belarus will seek to return the Olympic gold medal to its shot-putter Nadzeya Ostapchuk who was disqualified for doping, a senior sports official said on Tuesday.

Belarus will seek to return the Olympic gold medal to its shot-putter Nadzeya Ostapchuk who was disqualified for doping, a senior sports official said on Tuesday.

 

“Doping was detected in the athlete’s blood, and it was confirmed by both probes – A and B. We will try to find out what had happened and hold an investigation. We will fight for our athlete’s medal and will defend her interests,” said Igor Zaichkov, the first vice president of the country’s National Olympic Committee and a presidential aide on tourism and sports.

 

Two urine tests undergone by the athlete on the eve of the women’s shot put event on August 6 and the day after the competition indicated the presence of metenolone, which is classified an as anabolic agent under the “2012 Prohibited List.” Ostapchuk’s gold medal is to be passed over to New Zealand’s Valerie Adams, Russia’s Evgenyia Kolodko is to get silver, and Lijiao Gong of China is to receive bronze.

 

This is not the first time Belarus finds itself at the center of an Olympic doping scandal. After the 2008 Beijing Olympics, bronze and silver medalists in hammer throwing, Belarusians Ivan Tsikhan and Vadim Devyatovskiy, were stripped of their medals after they tested positive for abnormal levels of testosterone.

 

Two years later, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld Belarus’s appeal against the disqualification. It reinstated the two athletes on the grounds that the International Laboratory Standards (ISL) were not respected during the test and thus the doping probes were invalid.

 

With Ostapchuk stripped of her gold, Belarus is ranked 26th in the official medal count, with two gold, five silver and five bronze medals.

 

Zaichkov said he was disappointed with the national team’s performance at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

 

“We failed to implement our Olympic plan, and our performance was disastrous in some disciplines,” the official said. “Certain sports officials and coaches are to blame… Staff changes are to follow.”

 

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