The International Weightlifting Federation will ban Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus from competing for one year after the Rio Olympics finish because of doping, its chief told AFP.
IWF president Tamas Ajan said the governing body would announce the bans at the end of September or beginning of October, adding that he expected to punish several other nations as well. "After the Games we will suspend these countries. I give a guarantee about this... (It) will be Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus," Ajan told.
Weightlifting has long been afflicted by doping scandals and the IWF has undertaken a major crackdown on athletes using performance-enhancing drugs, often from former Soviet Union or Eastern Bloc countries.
It prevented Russia and Bulgaria from competing in weightlifting at the Rio Olympics for repeated and high-profile doping offences. The IWF had also wanted to bar Kazakhstan and Belarus but the International Olympic Committee was unable to complete retesting of samples from the Beijing and london Games in time.