The weightlifting units from Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus being forbidden from the Rio Olympics.
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) proclaimed the announcement on Wednesday, Stating that it would give one-year suspensions to any national federations subjected for three or more anti-drug breaches in the re-testing of specimens taken at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
A conclusive judgment on the prohibitions will come after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has made an absolute ruling on the re-tests.
The world governing group said in a statement: “The IWF administrator board has decided that national federations reinforced to have produced three or more anti-drug rule breaches in the blended re-analysis process of the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games shall be forbidden for one year. The countries thus subject to discontinuing are KAZ, RUS, BLR.”
Bulgaria has already been outlawed from competing in Rio by the IWF over drug sins, the decision was taken at the governing group’s last administrator board meeting last year and confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in January.
The IWF also declared it has withdrawn 11 quota places from six separate countries following drug sins during the 2015 World Championships in Houston.
Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, North Korea and Russia lose two places each, while Belarus lose one. In the cases of Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus, those penalties will only apply if they are permitted to compete in Rio.
The IWF statement said: “The IWF fully identifies with the content of the announcement of the Olympic summit stating that all the stakeholders of the Olympic movement must do their supremacy to ensure that only clean athletes should be qualified to participate in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.”
The IOC announced earlier this week that proposed Olympians from Russia and Kenya would have to pass specific assessments before being declared qualified to fight, given concerns over the anti-drug measures in place in the two countries.
Russia’s athletics team has been forbidden from competing in Rio by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), while individual athletes may be capable of competing under an IOC flag if they can verify they are clean.
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