Organizers randomly choose 24 lifters for steroid testing
Organizers randomly choose 24 lifters for steroid testing
JAKARTA (JP): Organizers of the 20th junior world
weightlifting championships have randomly picked 24 samples of
urine from participating lifters and say there will no banned
drug cases to tarnish the event.
"Our lifters know full well that their career will be over if
they are found guilty for using performance enhancing
substances," Gottfried Schodl, President of the International
Weightlifting Federation (IWF), said during a press meeting
yesterday.
The samples, along with other ones which are taken in the
remaining competitions, will be tested in an IWF-sanctioned
laboratory in Koln, Germany after the championships conclude.
Schodl claimed that IWF is the world's strictest sport
organization in handling drug abuse cases due to the life ban it
imposes on guilty lifters. Under IWF regulations, a national body
that has uncovered three positive results within 12 months is
also penalized with a year's suspension from competition.
The Austrian IWF president admitted that such misconduct had
occurred in the junior event's 20-year history, but "very few".
He failed, however, to reveal the exact number.
IWF also changed the weight divisions last year in an attempt
to clean up the sport, as the world old records were regarded to
be assisted by illegal drug use.
The last drug bans to be imposed by the sport body were those
of members of the Russian and Polish teams after being tested
drug positive prior to the world championships in Melbourne last
November.
Indonesia
Schodl also offered Indonesia to host the 1997 world
weightlifting championships, saying that the country had a bulk
of experience in organizing events sanctioned by IWF. Indonesia
played host to the 1988 women's world weightlifting meet and
junior world powerlifting championships last month.
Yesterday's competitions saw Russia end its gold medal drought
as Dmitri Gorshunov gobbled up two golds in the 76-kilogram
division. The Russian juggernaut also equaled the meet record set
by Victor Mitrou of Greece last year with a snatch of 152.5kgs in
his third attempt.
Gorshunov, 20, could only heave 180kgs in the clean and jerk
for the fourth place, but it was enough to give him another gold
for his total lift of 332.5kgs. His mark, however, was 17.5kgs
lighter than the world standard set by IWF. The international
sport body set 23 new world marks for junior competition,
following the changes of divisions.
Rumania proved its billing as the world's major weightlifting
powerhouse, winning two golds, three silvers and a bronze for the
second place overall behind runaway leader China which did not
field its lifters yesterday.
Rumanian Ilie Ovidiu Fatu stole the clean and jerk gold medal
with a lift of 182.5kgs, equal to that heaved by his Kazakhstan
rival Gennadi Ermakov. Fatu deserved the top honor as he weighed
0.30kg lighter than his opponent.
Fatu's teammate Ilie Ravzan took the clean and jerk bronze
with 180kgs but won two silvers after snatching 145kgs scoring a
combined lift of 325kgs.
Florin Havram seized a gold in the 83kg contest dominated by
Oliver Caruso of Germany with a snatch of 152.5kgs. Havram's
172.5kg lift in the clean and jerk earned him the second best
total lift of 325kgs.
Germany broke the duck as Caruso won two golds in the
division. He scored the best lift of 182.5kgs in clean and jerk
and was awarded another gold for his 332.5kgs total lift.
Six gold medals are at stake in the 91kg and 99kg categories
today. (amd)