ArmInfo. Due to the disqualification of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), Armenian weightlifters will not be able to participate in the World Championship scheduled for the end of November in the American Anaheim.
On September 30, the International Weightlifting Federation disqualified ten national federations for a year on doping charges: Armenia, Russia, Kazakhstan, China, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Ukraine, Moldova and Bulgaria.
Given that at least a few of these countries have powerful teams, the World Cup in the United States in fact lost its meaning, as its favorites are now athletes from the DPRK. Seven representatives of this country, five women and two men, after excommunication of competitors became the leaders of ratings in their weight categories.
Note that the athletes will not be able to participate in the European Championship-2018, which in March next year should be taken by Turkey. However, the IWF is forced to demonstrate rigidity in the fight against doping, otherwise weightlifting can lose its status as an Olympic sport altogether.
IWF sanctions were a response to the results of the re-examination of samples taken from weightlifters at the 2008 and 2012 Games. More than 50 of them gave a positive result (in nine cases, Russian athletes were involved). This is the second indicator after athletics. Earlier, the International Olympic Committee warned the IWF that if the federation does not restore order with anti-doping supervision, the Olympics of 2024 will be held without weightlifters.