IOC disqualifies eight athletes for failing doping re-tests

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday announced it has stripped Cuban discus thrower Yarelys Barrios of her silver medal from the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing.

The 33-year-old Cuban according to the IOC tested positive for the prohibited substance acetazolamide, a diuretic and masking agent.

She has thus been asked by the IOC to return the silver medal, the diploma and the medalist pin obtained in the discus throw.

The IOC also said Qatari sprinter Samuel Adelebari Francis has failed a doping re-test and has been disqualified from the men’s 100m in which he finished 16th. He tested positive for the banned substance stanozolol.

Both Barrios and Francis were among 98 athletes who have tested positive in reanalysis of samples from both the 2008 Beijing games and the 2012 London games.

On Wednesday, the IOC also announced the disqualification of six other athletes, including three Russian medalists from their events at the Beijing Games.

Russian track and field athlete Tatyana Firova has been disqualified from the women’s 400m event in which she finished sixth as well as the 4×400m relay in which her team finished second. The disqualification will also apply to her team mates who must return their medals, badges and diplomas.

The other disqualifications were in weightlifting and it included Alexandru Dudogloo of Moldova, Nadezda Evstyukhina of Russia who won bronze in the women’s 75kg event as well as Tigran Martirosyan of Armenia who also won bronze in the men’s 69kg event.

The others are Marina Shainoa of Russia, silver medalist in the women’s 58kg and Intigam Zairov of Azerbaijan who was ninth in the men’s 85kg class.

The IOC has since asked the athletics governing body, the IAAF to modify the results of the events involving the athletes and “to consider any further action within its own competence”.

The IOC ordered samples from the 2008 and 2012 Games to be re-tested using new techniques not available at the time of the competitions in an attempt to root out cheating.