PABM confirms national weightlifter’s doping test results positive

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Weightlifting Association (PABM) has confirmed that a national weightlifter failed the doping test conducted by the Malaysian AntiDoping Agency (Adamas) before the Commonwealth Games.

Without revealing the identity of the athlete who was found to have tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol, PABM acting secretary Abu Hanapah Ismail said the athlete concerned had asked to test the results of Sample B.

He said if Sample B was also found to be positive, the PABM will officially write to the Malaysian Olympic Council, International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) and the Commonwealth Games Federation to inform them of the matter before further action is taken.

“I am also very disappointed over what had happened...we have given the best cooperation to Adamas, especially for athletes from the Podium and Kita Juara programme to avoid things like this. We have also asked Adamas to conduct tests at all recent national-level championships,” he added.

“At three recent national-level championships, no athlete was involved. There were only the case at the international and Sukan Malaysia (Sukma) level. We cannot reveal the name of the athlete until we get the results of Sample B,” he said in a press conference given to Astro Arena and Bernama here on Thursday.

According to media reports, a national athlete believed to have won the bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games, failed the doping test conducted by Adamas.

Abu Hanapah said the test was conducted on three groups of people, with the results of the first two groups turning up clean, but the test on the third group was only conducted a few days before the athletes left for the Gold Coast, Australia as they were at a competition and training session in Indonesia and Vietnam.

It is understood that stanozolol is a S1 steroid in the list of items prohibited by the World AntiDoping Agency (Wada). It is the same drug that was used by former world sprinter Ben Johnson in 1988. – Bernama