Russian Olympic weightlifter Aleksey Lovchev was once the unanimous favorite to win the gold medal in the men’s 105+ kilogram category at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Unfortunately, Lovchev no longer has a chance. Lovchev will miss the Olympics entirely after being suspended for 4 years due to an anti-doping violation.
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) suspended Lovchev for a period of four years after the Russian athlete tested positive for traces of ipamorelin at the 2015 IWF World Weightlifting Championships in Houston on November 19-28, 2015.
Lovchev told the Russian news agency TASS that he planned to appeal the suspension at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
“Yesterday evening I received a notification from the IWF of my four-year disqualification,” Lovchev said. “I disagree with the IWF disqualification. Together with my lawyer we will appeal the ruling at the CAS. We have all reasons for doing that.”
Lovchev was one of four Russian weightlifters who were caught doping in Houston. Olga Zubova, Olga Afanasyeva and Aleksey Kosov all tested positive for anabolic steroids. Lovchev was the only one to test positive for ipamorelin.
Ipamorelin is not a steroid. It is an injectable peptide hormone that is used to increase the endogenous production of growth hormone (GH) via the activation of the ghrelin receptor. Ipamorelin belongs to the category of growth hormone releasing peptides (GHRPs) that include GHRP-6, GHRP-2 and hexarelin.
The 309-pound Russian weightlifter took home the title of “the strongest man in the world” when he set the world records with a 264 kilogram clean-and-jerk and a 475 kilogram total (combination of the snatch and the clean-and-jerk) at the championships in Houston last fall.
The previous world records – 263.5 kilograms clean-and-jerk and 472.5 total – were established by the legendary Iranian weightlifter Hossein Rezazadeh at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2000 Sydney Olympics, respectively.
The 26-year old Lovchev grew up watching Rezazadeh and had enormous respect for the accomplishments of the Iranian lifter. Lovchev didn’t think it was possible for him to break Rezazedah’s records.
“I was thinking ‘This is impossible,’ as I had never tried that weight before,” Lovchev said. “I’m overwhelmed.
“This shows that Russia is the strongest nation. I could never have done it without the support of my parents. My father is my coach and he introduced me to weightlifting. My mother passed away in 2012 and I dedicate this victory and the records to her.
“When I was little I used to watch Rezazadeh on television, lifting enormous weights. He was an example to me and I never imagined I would one day take his records.”
Lovchev seems to have little chance of successfully appealing the suspension. His “A-sample” and “B-sample” both tested positive for traces of ipamorelin at the WADA-accredited ‘Laboratoire de Contrôle du Dopage INRS – Institut Armand-Frappier” in Montreal, Canada. Lovchev hopes to convince the CAS that the failed anti-doping test result was the result of a laboratory mistake.
Without Lovchev competing in Rio de Janeiro, the Olympic weightlifting competition just got much less exciting. Thanks for nothing WADA and IWF!