Albania Weightlifting Suspended Over Doping Scandals

Albanian weightlifter Erkand Qerimaj

“Following the positive case at the Olympic games and two previous ones, the Albanian federation has been provisionally suspended,” the IWF’s Legal Council’s office told Balkan Insight.

According to the IWF, the provisional suspension will last until this weekend, when its executive board will meet to review Albania’s case. It might then opt for a longer suspension, a fine or both.

“The Albanian federation cannot do anything about its suspension and it’s up to the board to decide what measures to employ,” the IWF added.

The Albanian weightlifting Federation has had three athletes suspended this year, including Hysen Pulaku, the first athlete to be ejected from the Olympics after testing positive for an anabolic steroid.

According the International Olympic Committee, Pulaku tested positive on 23 July for the steroid stanozolol.

Earlier this year two other athletes, Erkand Qerimaj and Shqiponja Brahja, also tested positive for doping. Qerimaj had won a gold in the European Weightlifting Championships held in Turkey, but later was stripped of the medal and banned from competitions for two years.