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Named and shamed Saudi and Bulgarian weightlifters receive drug bans
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Two more powerlifters, including another Bulgarian, have been banned for failing pre-games drug tests, bringing to six the number of doping cases at the Sydney Paralympics. The International Paralympic Committee on Sunday identified the two as Hamed Abdul Al-Jandal of Saudi Arabia and Anton Puskov of Bulgaria. Both tested positive for the anabolic steroid nandralone, the IPC said in a statement. The latest sanctions mirrored those of four other powerlifters banned after hearings Saturday. Pushkov's Bulgarian teammae Radko Radev, Aurel Berbec of Romania, Ali Mahmoudkikordkheili of Iran and Marina Diakonova of Russia also failed out-of-competition tests. All six are banned from international competition up to and including the 2004 Paralympics. Drugs threaten to overshadow the Sydney Paralympics, in particular powerlifting, where women's competition is debuting. Calls to the chairman of the international powerlifting committee, which is sanctioning the event, were not returned. Bulgarian and Saudi delegations could not be contacted for comment. These are the first failed drug tests of Paralympians since 1992, although Sydney is the first host city to introduce out-of-competition testing. Sydney organizers conducted 129 doping tests during the week before the October 18 opening ceremony. Dr. Michael Riding, the IPC's top doctor, said the ratio of positive cases was astounding. "Six out of 129 is pretty high by anyone's standards," Riding said. "But it proves that out-of-competition testing is the way to go to ensure that these athletes don't make it to compete at the games." Powerlifting, judo and athletic field events were targeted in pre-games testing as "high risk" sports, Riding said. All athletes had been suspended from competition after returning positive preliminary samples and pending the analysis of backup samples and hearings. The last two hearings were conducted Sunday afternoon. Steadward said the drug problem within powerlifting was "likely our greatest pressing question." He said he would meet with the chairman of the powerlifting committee as soon as possible "to see what measures he is taking to ensure that this can be prevented in the future or dealt with." Powerlifting, "is a vastly growing sport ... but obviously it's experiencing more difficulties than any of our other sports," he added. Steadward said the IPC had the power to suspend any member nation that continually failed to take measures to combat doping and such action would be considered. Two of the initial four positives were for anabolic steroids, Berbec for Stanozolol and Mahmoudkikordkheili for Methandienone. Diakonova and Radev returned positive samples for banned diuretics, which can be used as masking agents for steroids. The Iranian lifter has already been expelled from the Paralympic Village. Steadward said the other disgraced athletes would be expelled from the Village as soon as possible. Powerlifting is a version of weightlifting in which athletes lie on a bench and press weights up with their arms. Weightlifting produced four of the 11 positive drug cases during the Sydney Olympics. Three Bulgarians and an Armenian were stripped of weightlifting medals during the Sydney Olympics.
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