China’s Olympic weightlifting champion Lyu Xiaojun suspended after positive doping test
- Lyu became the oldest man to win Olympic gold in weightlifting when he claimed the 81kg title in Tokyo last year
- Gold medallist tested positive for erythropoietin, a prohibited peptide hormone
China’s three-time Olympic champion Lyu Xiaojun has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for a banned substance, the International Testing Agency (ITA) said on Thursday.
Lyu returned the positive sample during an out-of-competition test on October 30, said the ITA, which oversees the bulk of the International Weightlifting Federation’s (IWF) anti-doping programme.
Lyu, who became the oldest man to win Olympic gold in weightlifting when he claimed the 81kg title in Tokyo last year, tested positive for erythropoietin, a prohibited peptide hormone.
Lyu was crowned world champion five times and won the London 2012 men’s 77kg and Tokyo 2020 men’s 81kg golds. He was also confirmed as the Rio 2016 men’s 77kg winner after Nijat Rahimov of Kazakhstan was stripped of the gold because of a doping violation.
A number of doping cases have been uncovered in the sport in recent years and in June former international weightlifting heads Tamas Ajan and Nicu Vlad were banned for life for covering up doping offences.
Lyu said in a statement that he was “greatly shocked” after being notified by the ITA.
