Doping scandal: Georgian silver medalist upgraded to gold
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A Georgian weightlifter who won a silver medal at the 2015 European Championships has been recognised as the new European champion after the gold medal winning athlete failed a doping test yesterday.
Irakli Turmanidze clinched the +105kg weight category silver medal at the 2015 European Weightlifting Championships in Tbilisi in April.
In the last 24 hours the International Weightlifting Federation upgraded Turmanidze’s result and offered him the title of European champion and gold medalist after Ukrainian weightlifter Oleg Proshak was found to have taken illegal drugs during the competition.
"Justice has been done,” said Georgia’s Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Tariel Khechikashvili when he announced the news today.
Turmanidze lifted a total weight of 435kg (201kg in the snatch and 235kg in the clean and jerk) at the tournament.
Ukraine’s Proshak lifted exactly the same weight as Turmanidze but he weighed 800g less than the Georgian athlete, making him the gold medal winner.
Looking ahead, Georgian weightlifters are now focused on the World Weightlifting Championships, which are being held this autumn. At this tournament weightlifters have the opportunity to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Georgian team’s success at the World champs will ultimately determine how many weightlifters will represent Georgia at next year’s Olympic Games.
Georgia’s Irakli Turmanidze has clinched the +105kg weight category silver medal of the 2015 European Weightlifting Championships, which were held in Tbilisi, Georgia this week.
The strongest athletes in the European continent are gathering in the Georgian capital Tbilisi to participate in the 2015 European Weightlifting Championship.
Georgia's capital Tbilisi will host the 2016 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Junior World Championships.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has cleared six Georgian wrestlers of doping after they and a handful of international athletes in a range of codes produced suspicious test samples for a now-banned substance that increases athletic performance.
Georgian weightlifter Lasha Talakhadze has won a gold medal and beaten a continental record in a heavy weight category at the European Weightlifting Championships in Norway yesterday.