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LONDON, July 28 (Reuters) - Albanian weightlifter Hysen
Pulaku became the first athlete to be ejected from the London
2012 Olympics after testing positive for an anabolic steroid,
the International Olympic Committee said on Saturday.
The 19-year-old, who was due to compete in the men's 77kg
class, joins a string of athletes who were banned for doping
violations before the start of the Olympics.
He now faces a possible two-year sanction by the
international weightlifting federation.
Pulaku tested positive on July 23 for Stanozolol - an old,
relatively cheap and easy-to-detect drug which, like other
anabolic steroids, is designed to mimic the effects of the male
sex hormones testosterone and dihydrotestosterone.
Higher levels of testosterone cause anabolic changes in the
body, including an increased rate of protein synthesis. This in
turn can boost muscle growth and an ability to recover more
quickly between bouts of strenuous exercise.
The drug was detected in Pulaku's urine sample. His personal
coach and uncle, Sami Pulaku, said neither he or Pulaku denied
the presence of the steroid and that the decision would not be
contested.
"Of course it is always a sad day when a cheating athlete is
caught," said IOC spokesman Mark Adams. "I hope there will not
be more."
It was the same steroid that saw Greece's world indoor high
jump champion Dimitris Chondrokoukis withdraw from the Games on
Thursday after a positive test for the drug which Canadian
sprinter Ben Johnson used before the 1988 Seoul Games.
Johnson was sent home in disgrace after metabolites of the
anabolic steroid were found in his urine sample following his
victory over Carl Lewis in the 100 metres final in world record
time.
TARNISHED HISTORY
Pulaku is the latest in a long line of weightlifters to have
tested positive for drugs in Olympic Games with the sport having
been tarnished by its doping history.
The IOC had urged federations and national anti-doping
agencies to up pre-Games testing to avoid any cases during the
July 27-Aug. 12 sporting festival.
"We do target the key sports and the key athletes and I am
entirely comfortable that we have done that," said Adams.
Since the start of the Olympic period the IOC has conducted
1001 drugs tests, of which 715 are urine and 286 blood tests.
Hungarian discus thrower Zoltan Kovago, a silver medallist
at the 2004 Athens Games, will also miss the Olympics after the
Court of Arbitration for Sport said on Thursday he had failed to
provide a sample when requested.
Moroccan 1,500 metres runner Mariem Alaoui Selsouli will miss
the Games after a positive test for a banned diuretic. Nine
track and field athletes were also banned for doping violations
on Wednesday.
For a FACTBOX on substances and methods commonly used in
doping, click on
(Reporting by Neil Maidment, Kate Kelland and Karolos Grohmann;
Editing by Ed Osmond/Mark Meadows)