2017 IWF World Championships

Four Positive Tests From 2017 IWF Worlds

Four Positive Tests From 2017 IWF Worlds

More than two-thirds of athletes at 2017 IWF World Championships were drug tested and only four came back positive.

Jan 23, 2018 by Armen Hammer
Four Positive Tests From 2017 IWF Worlds

According to a new report by the International Weightlifting Federation, more than two-thirds of athletes at 2017 IWF World Championships were drug tested and only four came back positive.

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Every 200kg or heavier snatch from the 2017 IWF Worlds. None of these athletes tested positive.

At the 2015 IWF World Championships held in Houston, Texas, the IWF tested only 40 percenet of athletes. At the 2017 World Championships, that number jumped to 67 percent of athletes. The raw number of athletes (236 in 2015 to 212 in 2017) changed mainly due to the lack of nine competitive weightlifting countries. 

Of those 212 tests at the 2017 IWF Worlds, only four positive results have come up:

  • Dimitris Minasidis  (CYP), 10th in M62
  • Aurimas Didzbalis (LTU), 2nd in M94
  • Dumitru Captari (ROU), M77
  • Romela Begaj (ALB), 2nd in W69

We reported earlier this week about Romela Begaj's positive test result possibly leading to a silver medal for Team USA's Mattie Rogers

While it's possible there may be more positive results from the 2017 IWF World Championships, the trend is certainly moving in the right direction with only four announced results compared to over 20 positive results from the 2015 World Championships.