Three Olympic champions tested positive for doping

Moscow, January 21: Three Russian Olympic gold medalists in race walking were tested positive for abuse of using performance improving drugs, the Russian Anti–Doping Agency (RUSADA) said.

Sergey Kirdyapkin and Olga Kaniski were banned for three years and two months, while Valery Borchin received a ban for eight years from October 15, 2012. Their performance results were also annulled, according to the agency’s decision.

Ramil Khabriyev, director general of RUSADA, told media that the Intertiol Olympic Committee would decide whether to rescind medals of these banned athletes, Xinhua reported. Kaniski won a silver medal at the London Olympic Games in 2012. Kirdyapkin became the gold medalist in men’s 50 km walk also in London. Borchin, who won the gold medal in men’s 20 km walk at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, has been accused of violating anti–doping rules for the second time, and the suspension pelty means he will have no chance to compete at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. IANS