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Russian female weightlifter Yevstyukhina’s doping test positive for banned substance

The IWF reported that the same banned substance was also discovered in doping samples of Russian male weightlifters Oleg Chen and David Bedzhanyan, who are both two-time European champions

MOSCOW, June 5. /TASS/. A doping sample of Russia’s three-time weightlifting world champion Nadezhda Yevstyukhina has tested positive for a banned performance enhancing substance, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) announced in a statement on Friday.

"IWF reports that the sample of Ms. Nadezda Evstyukhina (Russia) has returned an Adverse Analytical Finding for Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone metabolite," the statement from the IWF press office reads.

"The Athlete is already under provisional suspension in view of another potential anti-doping rule violation since 16 August 2019," according to the statement. "IWF will not make any further comments on the case until it is closed."

The IWF reported that the same banned substance was also discovered in doping samples of Russian male weightlifters Oleg Chen and David Bedzhanyan, who are both two-time European champions.

Commenting to TASS on the IWF statement, President of the Russian Weightlifting Federation Maxim Agapitov said the positive doping samples of three weightlifters at the issue were collected five years ago.

"These positive doping samples are a repercussion of the past time, when the previous administration of the Russian Weightlifting Federation was at the helm," Agapitov told TASS. "These doping samples were collected back in 2015."

Bedzhanyan, Chen and Yevstyukhina wrapped up their sports careers several years ago and last August they were all suspended based on the information from the database of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory.

Yevstyukhina is the three-time world champion (2011, 2013 and 2014) in the under-75 kilograms weight category. She also won two bronze (2007 and 2010) and one silver (2006) medals of the World Championships in addition to two gold (2011 and 2013) and one silver (2010) medals of the European Weightlifting Championships.

In June 2016, Sample B probes of Russian female weightlifters Marina Shainova and Nadezhda Yevstyukhina, who are the 2008 Olympics silver and bronze medalists respectively, tested positive for doping substances. They were later stripped of their medals of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.