Lithuanian becomes latest weightlifter to fail doping test ahead of London 2012
Monday, 16 July 2012
July 16 - Lithuanian weightlifter Aurimas Didžbalis has become the sport's latest athlete to fail a doping test ahead of the London 2012 Olympics with the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) revealing that there have already been 22 positive cases in 2012.The 21-year-old (pictured top), who is the 94kg Lithuanian record holder, was found to have had an excess of a banned substance in a urine sample in test results published this month although the IWF refused to disclose any details of the drug.
Didžbalis was set to be Lithuania's only weightlifter at the London 2012 Olympics and as a result of the failed test the country will have no representatives in the sport at the Games.
He has also been stripped of the silver medal he won at the 2011 European Championships in April last year and suspended by his national federation pending a B-sample test.
Weightlifting is one of the Olympic sports with the highest amount of failed doping tests but the IWF have moved strongly to address the issue, they claim.
By July 6 this year, the IWF had carried out 1,114 doping tests concentrating on the 84 countries qualified for London 2012.
A total of 596 in-competition (IC) and 536 out-of-competition (OOC) controls were effected in the past six months with all continental Olympic qualification events tested with a minimum control of 30 per cent of the competing athletes.
The positive cases arising from Olympic qualification competitions saw two positive tests from Africa, Europe and Asia in addition to one from Pan America.
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