Mr. Yauheni Zharnasek is a Belarussian Athlete competing in the Men’s +105 kg weightlifting event at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
In 2016, the IOC decided to perform further analyses on certain samples collected during the 2012 Olympic Games. These additional analyses were performed with analytical methods which were not available in 2012.
In May 2016 the International Olympic Committee reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Athlete after his 2012 A and B samples tested positive for the prohibited substances dehydrochlormethyltestosterone (turinabol), oxandrolone and stanozolol.
After notification the Athlete submitted that he did not accept the test results. He filed a statement in his defence and did not attend the hearing of the IOC Disciplinary Commission.
The Athlete stated that he had always been very responsible in preparing for a competition and had never used a banned substance in his career. He contended that his poor sport achievements prove that he never used any prohibited substances. The Athlete raised the hypothesis that the substances may have been contained in food supplements used at that time.
The Commission finds that the Athlete does not bring forth any element challenging the validity of the analytical results and concludes that the Athlete has committed an anti-doping rule violation consistent with intentional use of prohibited substances specifically ingested to deliberately improve performance. The fact that the metabolites of three doping substance, which are “classical” doping substances, were found, supports this consideration.
Therefore the IOC Disciplinary Commission decides on 26 October 2016 that the Athlete, Yauheni Zharnasek:
1.) is found to have committed an anti-doping rule violation pursuant to the IOC Anti-Doping Rules applicable to the Games of the XXX Olympiad in London in 2012 (presence, and/or use, of Prohibited Substances or its Metabolites or Markers in an athlete’s bodily specimen),
2.) is disqualified from the event in which he participated upon the occasion of the Olympic Games London 2012, namely the Men’s +105 kg weightlifting event, in which he ranked 9th.
3.) The IWF is requested to modify the results of the above-mentioned event accordingly and to consider any further action within its own competence.
4.) The National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus shall ensure full implementation of this decision.
5.) This decision enters into force immediately.
