Athletics: Nadzeya Ostapchuk stripped of gold medal
Belarusian shot putter Nadzeya Ostapchuk has been stripped of her Olympic gold medal after failing a doping test.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said that metenolone, which is classified as an anabolic agent, was discovered in two of the 31-year-old’s urine samples.
New Zealand’s Valerie Adams has subsequently been awarded gold after finishing in second place, Russia’s Evgeniia Kolodko silver for finishing third while China’s Lijiao Gong has been promoted to third place and takes bronze.
An IOC statement confirmed: "The athlete was first requested to provide a urine sample for a doping control on 5 August.
"She competed the next day in the women's shot put event, where she placed first, and was asked to provide a sample straight after her competition.
"Both samples indicated the presence of metenolone, which is classified as anabolic agent under the 2012 prohibited list."
Ostapchuk, who also competed at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, threw 21.63metres with her third attempt to comfortably finish ahead of Adams.
"I am speechless with this news,” Adams commented. “It is taking me some time to take this in. It is also encouraging for those athletes like myself, who are proud to compete cleanly, that the system works and doping cheats are caught."
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