2012 London Summer Olympics

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On a day when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued a stern warning to dope cheats, the London Olympics saw its first athlete --- an Albanian weightlifter named Hysen Pulaku --- being expelled from the Athletes' Village after the start of the Games, for use of anabolic steroid stanozolol.

The 19-year-old, who was due to compete in the 77kg category, now joins disgraced Greek world indoor high jump champion, Dimitris Chondrokoukis, who was ejected days before the start of the Olympics after testing positive for the same notorious anabolic steroid, made famous by Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson at the 1988 Seoul Games.

Pulaku now stares at an uncertain future, as the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) is likely to ban him for a minimum of two years. It's common knowledge that stanozolol boosts muscle growth and helps in quick recovery from strenuous workouts, but the relatively cheap steroid is also the easiest to detect.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams issued a statement saying, "It is always a sad day when a cheating athlete is caught. We hope there will be no more, but the message is very clear: if you are doping we are going to catch you."

He said the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will conduct a record number of tests at the Games and the medical history of each and every athlete in London will be scrutinized to ensure no dope cheat goes scot-free.

No less than 16 athletes have been ejected by their respective national federations or international sports federation for pre-competition doping offences. Pulaku is the first to fail a dope test since arriving in London.

A battery of sophisticated tests has been unveiled before the Games, which can detect hormonal changes and steroid abuse weeks, or even months, after the substance has been consumed.

 

 

Albanian Weightlifter Expelled After Testing Positive for Stanozolol