Russian Weightlifters Test Positive For PED's

         Here in America most people, if they get glimpse of it, only see Weightlifting during the Olympics. They never witness a World Championship or National Championships on TV, and never see the beauty of seeing a lifter win on their final attempt or see a world record broken. This beauty gets ugly when there are people who win by doping or using drugs. Today the International Weightlifting Federation released the names of 17 lifters who failed drug tests at the World Championships in Houston, Texas.

        Among those who failed drug tests were the 105kg+ World Champion and World Record Holder, Aleksei Lochev, of the Russian Federation. Lochev lifted an impressive 264 kg clean and jerk on his final lift breaking the world record 263 kg. held by Hossein Rezazadeh of Iran. Although Lochev tested positive, the test will be disputed. Lochev's camp claim that the drug in question, ipamorelin, was declared legally to the IWF to aid in recovery for a knee injury.

Russian Minister of Sport Vitaly Mutko shows his support for Lochev

        “This is a huge disappointment, but we will work on Lochev because his blood tests are OK. We must clarify it. The substance was declared. Lochev tore his lateral ligament. Maybe the concentration is wrong.Maybe we have a chance on him...Once again we will support Lochev until the sanctions are imposed. We believe in him. I repeat, the substance was declared. And it was submitted in the corresponding permission. There must be a presumed innocence for athletes, an investigation must be held and the B sample must be examined.”

         According to the IWF in their Anti-doping Houston Wrap Up 200 of nearly 600 athletes were tested and 24 came out positive. The testing was conducter by the World Anti-doping Association and claims accuracy and clear proof of positive tests.

       “The testing was conducted in compliance with the WADA Technical Document for Sport Specific Analysis and resulted in two Adverse Analytical Findings of the group S2. PEPTIDE HORMONES, GROWTH FACTORS, RELATED SUBSTANCES AND MIMETICS. The new findings are clear proof how accurate the IWF Anti-Doping Program is. Growth hormone detection is quite new in the field of anti-doping and IWF praises the Montreal Laboratory for its excellent work.”

        Whether or not Lochev will be cleared of any wrongdoing is unclear. Lochev wasn't the only Russian lifter to test positive for doping. Three other lifters tested positive as well. Olga Zubova, who competed in the Women's 75kgs./ 165lbs. class won the gold medal in the clean and jerk with a lift of 156 kgs./343lbs.,and a bronze winning 276kgs./607lbs. total. Zubova tested positive for methenolone, an anabolic steroid that is found naturally in the adrenal glands of impregnated domestic cats. This isn't Zubova's first positive test. She tested positive at the 2013 World Championships in Wroclaw, Poland. Olga Afanasieva, who competed in the Women's 69kgs., or 151lbs., took 4^th place in the total tested positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, a steroid that was used by East German athletes in the 1960's. This is Afanesieva's first positive test. Rounding out the bunch is Men's 94kgs./207lbs. Lifter Aleksei Kosov. Kosov, who took the gold in the snatch with a 181kgs./398lbs., tested positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, the same drug Afanesieva allegedly took.

       “What about the others?” asks Mutko. “This is complete irresponsibility.” The Russian Minister of Sport claims that the team all tested clean before leaving Russia for Houston. Mutko puts the blame on Russian Weightlifting President Sergey Syrtsov. “The team left clean and tested.” claimed Mutko. “We must deal with personal coaches and doctors, and with the Weightlifting President.”

        This all comes after leaked information of Russia's state sponsored drug doping scandal where the Russian government gave their athletes performance enhancing drugs. Many in the International Olympic Committee have called for Russia to be expelled from the 2016 Rio Olympics. Ironically, the IOC has threatened to expell Weightlifting from the Olympic Program for decades due to the many positive drug tests the sport has produced. Whether or not Russia's athletes will be banned, or Weightlifting scratched from the Olympics is yet to happen.

       

           Many will see these positive drug tests as bad for the sport of Weightlifting. However, there is a silver lining. The positive tests is good for the sport of Weightlifting because it shows that the IWF is serious about keeping the sport clean. However, this leaves a black mark on the Russian Weightlifting Team and the Russian Olympic Committee. How this will all turn out is yet to come.