Russian Weightlifters Banned for Doping Ahead of Rio Olympics

Russia suffered another setback as two of their weightlifters were handed bans for doping ahead of Rio Olympics.

The picture is used for representational purpose. (Photo: Reuters)

Two Russian weightlifters have been banned for doping, in a further hit to the credibility of both Russian sport and weightlifting ahead of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Former European under-23 champion, Alexei Selyutin was banned for four years and Russian national champion Yekaterina Vlasova for 18 months, the Russian anti-doping agency says, citing the Russian weightlifting federation.

While Selyutin and Vlasova were unlikely to make the Russian team for Rio, their bans are a further blow for Russian weightlifting, which already risks being barred from the Olympics altogether for numerous earlier doping cases.

Weightlifting is also in the grip of a global doping crisis after many medallists from the 2008 and 2012 Olympics failed retests of their samples.