Weightlifting legend Liu Chunhong and two other China Olympic gold medallists caught in doping retests
Fellow 2008 champions Chen Xiexia, who won China’s first gold in Beijing, and Cao Lei also return positives
Double Olympic weightlifting champion Liu Chunhong, enshrined as one of the 100 lifters of the century, is facing shame after a positive retest of her doping samples from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Two other Chinese Olympic champions, Cao Lei and Chen Xiexia, and eight other medallists have also been named and could be stripped of their titles after failing retests from the same Games.
The International Weightlifting Federation says the 11 tested positive for a range of banned substances in the latest scandal to shake the sport, which is already processing retests which caught numerous medallists from the 2008 and 2012 Games.
Liu, Cao and Chen all tested positive for GHRP-2, which stimulates growth hormone production, while Liu also tested positive for the stimulant sibutramine.
Liu broke three world records in defending her title in the women’s 69kg division in Beijing. She lifted 128kg in the snatch, 158kg in the clean and jerk, and her total of 286kg beat the previous mark by an astounding 10kg.