Topic: News: Egyptian duo banned for life

[Adrian Cadmus-Dixon]

Link

Weightlifting- Egyptian duo banned for life

Egyptian weightlifting duo Nahla Ramadan and Esmat Mansour have been banned for life by the country's Weightlifting Federation for deliberately skipping the world championship preparations.

"Their dues have been suspended. We will also sue them to get back all the money we have spent to prepare them since 2005," the federation's secretary general Fathi Zorqa told reporters on Thursday.

"We have also filed a complaint to Egypt's Attorney General in order to prevent Nahla and Esmat from traveling abroad."

Former world champion Ramadan and promising Mansour were expected to compete for medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

However, they now have no chance of representing Egypt next summer.

[Shaun Le Conte]

That's baffles me. It doesn't seem doping related, rather it seems that the Egyptian Federation feels snubbed by its champion who isn't willing to attend their training camp (maybe for good reason). I have a suspicion it's a threat to get the two to comply. I don't trust an article such as this since they only represent the Federation's point of view and offer very little explanation.

[Rob Macklem]

I couldn't agree more, its baffling and bizarre. Maybe the story got "lost in translation".
If I get a chance I'll try and talk to the Egyptian coach. In Santo Domingo he was telling me that he had no objections to the Egyptian lifters being tested for drugs. His only complaint was they would do it at all hours and with no notification....which was a hassle for all involved. I understand that its a necessary evil....but apparently they were doing it very often.

[Shaun Le Conte]

I note that Nahla Ramadan is in the entry list for the championships (as a +75), but maybe it was submitted before this news story occurred.