Olympic men's hammer throw medalists from Belarus were at IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, yesterday to answer questions about alleged doping at the Beijing Games.
Vadim Devyatovskiy and Ivan Tsikhan emerged after 3 1/2 hours with the International Olympic Committee's Disciplinary Commission which is examining charges they tested positive for abnormal traces of testosterone after the hammer throw final on August 17.
"We are waiting and we hope," silver medalist Devyatovskiy said through an interpreter. "We know that we are clean but we are waiting for information."
Devyatovskiy said the athletes, who were accompanied by an adviser from the Belarus athletics federation and an interpreter, received a fair hearing and presented a good case. "When you know that it just cannot be, we were calm and reserved," he said.
The Belarus pair could be disqualified and stripped of their medals if found guilty of doping. The disciplinary panel has the power to disqualify athletes, but can also forward recommendations to the IOC executive board for a final ruling.
The IOC hearings are being held four weeks after the end of the Games because of the difficulty in coordinating the attendance of all commission members - including legal and anti-doping advisers - as well as athletes.
If found guilty, Devyatovskiy's medal would go to Krisztian Pars of Hungary, while Tsikhan's bronze would go to Koji Murofushi of Japan. Slovenia's Primoz Kozmus won the gold medal.
The IOC disqualified six athletes for doping during the Beijing Games - Ukrainian heptathlete Lyudmila Blonska, Ukrainian weightlifter Igor Razoronov, Greek hurdler Fani Halkia, North Korean shooter Kim Jong Su, Spanish cyclist Isabel Moreno and Vietnamese gymnast Thi Ngan Thuong Do.
Blonska was stripped of her silver, while Kim had his silver and bronze revoked.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily September 22, 2008)