Yarelys Barrios stripped of Beijing silver after failing anti-doping test
By Erik Andreassen
Last Updated: 01/09/16 1:30pm
The International Olympic Committee has stripped Cuban discus thrower Yarelys Barrios of her silver medal from the Beijing Olympics after she failed an anti-doping test.
A re-analysis of Barrios' samples from the 2008 Games resulted in a positive test for the prohibited substance acetazolamide, a diuretic and masking agent, an IOC statement confirmed.
Qatar's Samuel Francis, who reached the semi-finals of the 100m in Beijing, has also been disqualified after a positive test for the synthetic steroid stanozolol.
The disqualifications are a result of IOC's special measures put in place before the Rio Olympics.
Stored samples from Beijing 2008 and London 2012 are re-tested with improved methods following an intelligence-gathering process which began in August last year.
The process has already borne fruit for the IOC. Up to 98 samples had returned positive earlier in August, and includes a number of medallists.
