IPC announces Paralympic doping failures for Mashal Alkhazai and Felipe Veloso da Silva
By Michael Cantillon
Last Updated: 13/09/16 7:08am
The international Paralympic Committee confirmed on Monday positive doping tests involving two participants at the Rio games.
Powerlifter Mashal Alkhazai of Saudi Arabia has been banned for eight years after failing an out-of-competition drugs test at the Rio Paralympic Games, the IPC confirmed.
The test failure is the second such doping violation by Alkhazai, 36, who has now had his accreditation revoked and place in the +107kg division annulled.
"Alkhazai returned an adverse analytical finding for metenolone in a urine sample provided on September 4 in an out-of-competition test conducted in Rio, Brazil, ahead of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games," an IPC statement read.
"This substance is included on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) 2016 prohibited list under the category S1 anabolic agents and is prohibited at all times, both in and out of competition.
"As a result of his violation, Alkhazai will be ineligible from competition for eight years from September 11, 2016, the date of the decision, until September 12, 2024."
Alkhazai was not the only Paralympic athlete to receive a ban on Monday, as the IPC confirmed that guide runner to Brazilian T11 athlete Thalita Simplicio da Silva, Felipe Veloso da Silva, received a back dated three-month suspension due to testing positive for the prohibited substance tamoxifen.
"As a result of his violation, Veloso da Silva was made ineligible from competition for three months from May 21, 2016 to August 21, 2016," the IPC added.
"All results achieved by Veloso da Silva and Thalita Simplicio da Silva from the date of the test onwards have been disqualified including forfeiture of any medals, points, records and prizes."
