Three Russian Olympic gold medallists test positive for doping

Three Russian Olympic gold medallists in race walking were tested positive for abuse of using performance improving drugs, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) said on Tuesday.

Sergey Kirdyapkin and Olga Kaniskina were banned for three years and two months, while Valery Borchin received a ban for eight years from October 15, 2012. Their performance results were also annulled, according to the agency’s decision.

Ramil Khabriyev, director general of RUSADA, told media that the International Olympic Committee would decide whether to rescind medals of these banned athletes, Xinhua reported.

Kaniskina won a silver medal at the London Olympic Games in 2012. Kirdyapkin became the gold medallist in men’s 50 km walk also in London. Borchin, who won the gold medal in men’s 20 km walk at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, has been accused of violating anti-doping rules for the second time, and the suspension penalty means he will have no chance to compete at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.