Six medallists fail reanalysed 2008 Beijing Olympics tests

Paris: Six medallists from the 2008 Beijing Olympics were among nine competitors to fail drug tests as part of an International Olympic Committee campaign of retesting stored samples, it was announced Wednesday.

The list of athletes to have their medals stripped includes three weightlifters -- Ukraine`s Olha Korobka (second in the women`s 75kg category), Belarus`s Nastassia Novikava (third in the 53kg women) and Andrei Rybakou (second in the men`s 85kg).

Wrestlers Soslan Tigiev of Uzbekistan (second in the 74kg men) and Kazakhstan`s Taimuraz Tigiyev (second in the 96kg men) were also snared.

The sixth medallist was Russian 3000m steeplechase bronze winner Ekaterina Volkova.

All six tested positive for the steroid turinabol, said the IOC.

Three non-medallists also tested positive -- Azerbaijan weightlifter Sardar Hasanov, Cuban long jumper Wilfredo Martinez and Josephine Onyia, a 100m hurdler from Spain.

The IOC has been reanalysing stored samples from athletes of the Beijing and 2012 London Games as part of efforts to clean up athletics.

The latest batch takes the total of positive tests to 60 from 1,243 reanalysed samples.