Turkish weightlifter loses doping appeal

LAUSANNE:

Turkish weightlifter Sibel Ozkan has lost an appeal against a doping sanction which cost her a silver medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Ozkan, who finished second in the women’s 48-kilogram class in Beijing, tested positive for the steroid stanozolol in a reanalysis of her urine sample this year and was retroactively disqualified by the IOC. Ozkan contended in her appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport that her positive test resulted from a contaminated protein supplement. CAS arbitrator Michael Beloff ruled there was “no evidence of the contamination” and that even if her claim were true, Ozkan had shown “no due diligence” in dealing with a supposedly contaminated supplement. CAS says Ozkan also offered “sensitive information about the Turkish Weightlifting Federation in exchange for a possible agreement with the respondent to dispose of this case.” If the IOC decides to reallocate the medals, Taiwan’s Chen Wei-Ling would receive silver, with bronze going to Im Jyoung-Hwa of South