By Nick Butler

London 2012 silver medal winner Roohallah Rostami has been stripped of his medal after failing a drugs test ©Getty ImagesIran's London 2012 silver medal winner Roohallah Rostami has become the latest powerlifter to be suspended after a failed doping test, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced today.


Rostami, who finished runner-up behind China's Liu Lei in the 67.5 kilogram category in London two years ago, returned an adverse analytical finding for the banned stimulant Methylhexaneamine in a urine sample provided on April 7 during the World Championships in Dubai.

As a result, the Iranian will receive a two-year ban, backdated to April 7, as well as a fine of €1,500 (£1,190/$2,039).

He will also be stripped of all of his results since the positive test occurred, and this will include the World Championship silver medal he initially won in the under 72kg division behind Egyptian winner Mohamed Elelfat.

Russia's bronze medallist Sergei Sychev will be upgraded to silver while China's Peng Hu will move up from fourth to bronze.

This marks the latest of many doping cases in the sport of powerlifting in recent years, with Nigerians Ivory Nwokorie and Folashade Oluwafemiay already stripped of the gold and silver medals they originally won at London 2012 due to failed tests.

Nigeria's Ivory Nwokorie is one London 2012 Paralympic gold medal winner to have failed a doping test ©Getty ImagesNigeria's Ivory Nwokorie is one London 2012 Paralympic gold medal winner to have failed a doping test ©Getty Images



Last October, the IPC announced a new programme of educational and practical support, entitled "Natural power - Say No! to Doping", in a bid to tackle the problem, although subsequent failed tests suggest the improvements have been limited.

It has already been announced this month that Russia's Ilfat Mukhatarov also failed a test during the World Championships in April, while Colombia's Ivan Palacios did so during the 2014 Para South American Games in the Chilean capital Santiago in March. 

An IPC statement today reiterated that "each athlete is strictly liable for the substances found in his or her sample, and that an anti-doping rule violation occurs whenever a prohibited substance, or its metabolites or markers, is found in his or her bodily specimen".

It added that, as a "signatory of the World Anti-Doping Code, the IPC remains committed to a doping free sporting environment at all levels".

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
July 2014: Two powerlifters suspended after doping violations
October 2013: Powerlifting to finally tackle doping crisis after another positive test
July 2013: IPC calls for support as another four powerlifters are banned for doping violations
June 2013: Paralympic medal winning powerlifter suspended after positive doping test
June 2013: Uzbekistani powerlifter Kuzieva receives two-year ban for doping violation