The athlete was deprived of her London 2012 gold after a positive doping test.
Belarus is preparing to appeal the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s decision to disqualify Nadzieja Astapchuk for doping and strip her of the Olympic gold medal that she won in the women’s shot put in London, a source at the National Olympic Committee told.
Deputy Sports Minister Cheslau Shulha told reporters earlier this week that the ministry still viewed Ms. Astapchuk as an Olympic champion, while Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s spokesman, Paviel Liohki, said that it would be wrong to strip her of the III class Order of the Fatherland that she was awarded by the Belarusian leader for winning the Olympic title.
The IOC announced on Monday that the 31-year-old Astapchuk had tested positive for the steroid metenolone and would therefore have to return her medal.
“The athlete was first requested to provide a urine sample for a doping control on 5 August,” the IOC said in a statement. “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.”
Aliaksandr Vankhadla, director of the National Anti-Doping Agency, has announced that the agency and the Belarusian Athletics Federation will conduct their own probe into the incident.
Ms. Astapchuk insists that she has no idea how the prohibited substance could have got into her system. “I had been doping tested at least 18 times before the Olympics and had always tested negative, and then I was found positive exactly during the Games,” the athlete told on Monday. “I’m not an idiot to take such a drug and go to compete at the Olympics.”
Ms. Astapchuk won the women’s shot put at the London Olympics with her best effort of 21.36 meters, 66 centimeters further than the best throw of runner-up Valerie Adams of New Zealand.
Ms. Astapchuk was fourth at the 2004 Athens Olympics of 19.01 meters and third at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with 19.86 meters.
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