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(Reuters) - Kazakhstan
weightlifter Nijat Rahimov, a gold medallist at the Rio 2016
Olympic Games, has been charged with a doping offence for
swapping urine samples, the International Testing Agency (ITA)
has said.
The ITA also charged Dumitru Captari of Romania -- who competed
alongside Rahimov in the under-77 kg event in Rio de Janeiro -
with offences that took place "over a period of time in 2016".
Both athletes have been provisionally suspended but it is
unclear if the allegations span the 2016 Rio Games where Rahimov
claimed gold with a world record lift.
"During the investigation of the incident the athlete is
temporarily suspended from all sports events and training
camps," Kazakhstan's weightlifting federation (WFRK) said in a
statement.
"Adhering to the policy of "zero tolerance" for doping the
federation will provide all necessary support to the ITA in
conducting an objective investigation. Also WFRK will provide
legal assistance to our athlete if needed."
Romania's weightlifting federation (FRH) did not immediately
respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The ITA also announced that it is intending to prosecute
Rattikan (Siripuch) Gulnoi of Thailand, a bronze medallist at
London 2012, for "use of prohibited substance throughout her
career".
Gulnoi was recorded by an undercover team by Germany broadcaster
ARD for their documentary that exposed widespread doping and
corruption in weightlifting last year.
Olympics news website insidethegames reported that Gulnoi
revealed in the interview that girls as young as 13 were
encouraged to use banned substances in Thailand and joked that
she was "the only Thai weightlifter who never tested positive".
The ITA carries out all anti-doping procedures for the IWF and
the deal was recently extended until 2024.
In a statement https://ita.sport/2021/01/18/the-ita-pursues-prosecution-of-anti-doping-rule-violations-in-weightlifting,
the ITA said it was investigating 146 files after revelations in
the McLaren report into weightlifting corruption.
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian
Radnedge)
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