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European weightlifting champion Dmytro Chumak has been provisionally suspended. On Saturday, the International Testing Agency (ITA) alleged that the 30-year-old tried to bribe his way out of a doping test.
In the run-up to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Dmytro Chumak was considered one of the major medal contenders in the Men's 109 kg category.
The Ukrainian weightlifter clinched a gold medal during the 2021 European Weightlifting Championships.
A cumulative lift of 407 kg (181 kg in Snatch and 226 kg in Clean & Jerk) had helped Dmytro grab the yellow metal back in April. This was also his third continental gold medal. He had earlier bagged gold during the 2019 European Championships in Georgia and the 2017 edition in Croatia.
What are the charges faced by Dmytro Chumak?
The ITA handles drug testing for the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). As per the AP, the ITA had asked Dmytro Chumak for a drug testing sample on May 6.
"He refused to provide a sample, attempted to evade and bribe the Doping Control Officers that were conducting the testing mission," said the ITA.
It is now clear that Dmytro Chumak will be suspended until he faces a hearing. The weightlifter has been charged with three offenses - attempting to use a banned substance, refusing to give a sample, and tampering with the anti-doping process. Chumak's coach Mykhailo Matsokha has also been suspended after the incident came to light.
During the 2016 Rio Olympics, Dmytro Chumak had finished 6th in the Men's 94 kg category. It remains unclear if the 2018 World Championships silver medalist will have the opportunity to compete at the quadrennial extravaganza in Tokyo.
Weightlifting: a sport marred by doping offenses
Dmytro Chumak's case is not the first such incident in the sport of weightlifting. Many prominent weightlifters have been accused of using performance-enhancing drugs in the past. Ukrainian weightlifter Igor Razoronov was disqualified from the 2008 Beijing Olympics after testing positive for nandrolone.
Armenian weightlifter Tigran Gevorg Martirosyan was stripped of his Bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics after a reanalysis of his samples revealed that he had used prohibited substances stanozolol and turinabol.
Russia's Marina Shainova, Turkey's Sibel Özkan, Kazakhstan's Ilya Ilyin, China's Cao Lei, Liu Chunhong and Chen Xiexia have all been disqualified after doping violations came to light.
