RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – A Chinese swimmer, a Polish weightlifter and a Bulgarian steeplechaser were expelled or suspended Friday from the Olympics for doping, the first athletes sanctioned after failing drug tests at the games.
Weightlifter Tomasz Zielinksi and steeplechaser Silvia Danekova were kicked out of the games after testing positive for banned substances, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said.
Swimmer Chen Xinyi accepted a “provisional suspension” after testing positive for a diuretic. CAS said her case will continue, with a final decision to be issued before the end of the games.
The 18-year-old Chen’s Olympics were over anyway. She finished fourth Sunday in the 100-meter butterfly and pulled out before Friday’s 50-meter freestyle, her final event of the games.
These were the first decisions issued by CAS, which is handling doping cases at the Olympics for the first time. The International Olympic Committee handed over responsibility to CAS in a bid to make the process more independent.