Topic: News: The 2008 Bulgarian Doping Scandal

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Bulgaria’s doping commission proposes to stop financing of Weightlifting Federation

Sofia. The National Commission for Doping Control has conducted a hearing of the Secretary General of the Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation Tencho Tenev and was introduced to documents, linked to the case of 11 Bulgarian weightlifters, who were incriminated in using banned stimulants, the State Agency for Youth and Sports announced for FOCUS News Agency. On grounds of this hearing the Commission proposes that the weightlifters are subjected to article 66 of the Doping Control ordinance, which reads that they could receive two years banning from sports competitions in case of a first-time violation and for life, in case of a second-time violation.

The same ordinance envisages that the funding of the sports organization could be cut. Formal announcement with the penalties for the weightlifters will be issued by the end of the week.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation imposed a fine of USD 465,000 over a doping scandal

Sofia.  Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation must pay to the International Weightlifting Federation a fine at the amount of USD 465,000, press centre of State Agency for Youths and Sports announced. The State Agency for Youths and Sports imposed sanction as cuts off funding of the Weightlifting Federation along the ‘Olympic training’ lines. At the same time the State Agency binds the Weightlifting Federation to introduce and to stand up for active and modern “Program for Development” which envelops the selection, improvement and professional progress of sportsmen and coaches.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Weightlifting: Penalties of the Bulgarian weightlifters

Sofia. The State Agency for Youth and Sports (SAYS) received an official letter from the International Weightlifting Federation about the sanctions of the Bulgarian weightlifters charged with the doping scandal.
Sanction for withdrawing of the competitive rights for 4-year period is imposed to: Velichko Cholakov, Demir Demirev, Mehmed Fihretov, Ivailo Filev, Ivan Markov, Ivan Stoitsov, Gergana Kirilova, Milka Maneva and Donka Mincheva.

Suspension of competitive permit for life: Georgi Markov and Alan Tsagev.

[Shaun Le Conte]

but I have some hypothetical questions to pose:

3.  Why is international weightlifting plagued by such rampant drug use, is it:
a.  The athletes expectations of themselves,
b.  The national programs, or
c.  The international expectation or standard of performance imposed upon the sport by spectators of the games themselves?

I believe it is the nature of the sport itself that encourages drug use. As we know, It`s a very basic sport relying heavily on strength so the benefits to be gained are more significant than in some sport that contains a wider variety of skills, tactics and strategy.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Shaun,

I agree with your points but also believe the IWF's lack of serious enforcement is a primary contributor- tipping everyone off whenever there is a new testing protocol, canceling pre-testing at this Olympics, fines instead of suspensions, glorifying obvious cheaters, and on and on. The IWF has consistently given a wink and nod to doping.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Sanctions for Bulgarian weightlifters tested positive for doping
By Petar Kostadinov

Two of the 11 Bulgarian weightlifters who missed the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics after testing positive for doping received a life-long ban from the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). The penalties were announced on September 11 2008.

Georgi Markov and Alan Tsagaev were banned for life because this was their second positive doping test.

The rest of the 11 athletes - Velichko Cholakov, Demir Demirev, Mehmed Fikretov, Ivailo Filev, Ivan Markov and Ivan Stoitsov on the men's team, as well as Gergana Kirilova, Milka Maneva and Donka Mincheva on the women's team - received a four-year ban from official competitions.

Next to that, the Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation will have to pay a fine of $465 000. The fine will have to be paid by the BWF itself and not the state after the Bulgarian State Agency for Youth and Sports decided to stop its financing to the BWF. The federation has received about five million leva in funding over the last four years.

The BWF is also expected to find who doped the entire weightlifting Olympic team. The team tested positive few weeks before the start of the Olympics and, so far, no one has assumed any kind of responsibility for the blow that threatens to destroy Bulgaria's weightlifting.

When the news about the doping test became public BWF president, Anton Kodjabashev, a former weightlifter himself, said that it made no sense that all 11 athletes could test positive for illegal substances.

In a statement sent to the media he said that “traces of the substance for which the athletes were tested positive can be discovered for a minimum six month period after the drug is taken. That’s why it makes no sense for the athletes to take it 60 days before the Olympics, especially when they know that they are tested for doping every month”.

Unfortunately, Bulgaria's weightlifting has a long tradition of drug abuse. At the summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988, two Bulgarian weightlifters - Mitko Grablev and Angel Genchev - were stripped of their gold medals after being found guilty of doping.

In 2000, weightlifters Isabela Rifatova, Ivan Ivanov and Sevdalin Minchev tested positive for a diuretic during the Sydney Olympics. Rifatova won the gold in the 48kg category, Ivanov won a silver medal in the 56kg category, and Minchev won the bronze in the 62kg category.

[GabrielNagy]

1.  Could these athletes have been elite international competitors without the use of banned anabolic substances?

2.  Are there ANY elite ("A" group) international competitors who are there without the use of banned anabolic substances in at least some part of their training cycle?

No.

To the point 3.
I would like to add also the $$$ issue. Who can have a better and undetectable stuff 'from companies like Balco was' a profi NFL player who earn X $/week or a poor weightlifter (f.e. Indian one) who have X/10000 $ per week income?

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Vesela Lecheva: The state won’t pay weightlifters’ fine

Sofia. ‘The state will pay no fines’. This was announced during a meeting of representatives of the State Agency for Youth and Soirts in Bulgaria with the Weightlifting Federation, Vesela Lecheva, the Chairperson of the SAYS said during a press conference, cited by a reporter of FOCUS News Agency. Lecheva was speaking in a comment on the fines, imposed as sanction on the Bulgarian weightlifters for using performance enhancing drugs.

Lecheva also said that the unassimilated funds, allotted by the government for the Olympics total BGN 300,000 and they would be returned to the State Agency.