Kazakh weightlifter Ihor Son, who won bronze at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, has been banned for eight years for doping but will not lose his medal, the Weightlifting Federation of Kazakhstan (WFRK) said, citing Reuters.

Weightlifter Ihor Son, disqualified for eight years for doping

Son, who finished third on the podium in the 61kg category at the Japan Games, is one of six weightlifters to be suspended after testing positive for banned substances in March 2022.

WFRK did not specify what substances were involved, but said it would conduct an internal investigation.

“This out-of-competition testing was conducted six months after the international competitions in which the athletes participated, so there is no question of annulling their results or withdrawing medals,” said WFRK Secretary General Aldiar Nuralinov.

“I want to emphasize this, in particular, regarding Ihor Son’s Olympic medal,” the Kazakh official added.

Igor Son, 24, served a seven-month ban in 2015 after testing positive for methandienone, a banned steroid, and was then stripped of the gold medal he won at the World Youth Championships.

Kazakhstan was stripped of its Olympic weightlifting medals, including six golds, from the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Games for various anti-doping violations.

In Tokyo 2021, Kazakhstan was among the nations allocated only two Olympic berths due to its history of doping, according to Agerpres.