Three Chinese weightlifting gold medalists from the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the women’s shot put bronze medalist were stripped of their medals due to doping violations.
Chen Xiexia, Cao Lei and Liu Chunhong, who won three of China’s four women’s weightlifting golds in Beijing, had retests of 2008 doping samples come back positive for the same banned growth hormone.
Their lost medals mean China’s tally from the Beijing Games is now fewer than 50 golds and fewer than 100 medals overall. China still won the most golds in Beijing and the second-most total medals behind the U.S.
Belarus shot putter Nadzeya Ostapchuk‘s retest came back positive for the banned steroid turinabol. Ostapchuk took bronze in Beijing behind New Zealand gold medalist Valerie Adams and Belarus silver medalist Nataliya Mikhnevich.
Mikhnevich was stripped of her silver medal in November after a 2008 retest came back positive for banned steroids.
Ostapchuk was previously stripped of her 2012 London Olympic shot put gold medal the day after that Closing Ceremony for failing a drug test during those Games.
She was later stripped of a 2005 World Championships title for doping and handed a four-year doping ban by the IAAF that expired last August.
Adams is the only original women’s shot put medalist from 2008 or 2012 who hasn’t been stripped of her medal.
