Bronze Medal Stripped: Wrestler Soslan Tigiev Of Uzbekistan Doped At 2012 London Olympics, IOC Says

Wrestler Soslan Tigiev of Uzbekistan was stripped of the bronze medal that he won at the 2012 Olympic Games in London due to a doping violation.

The International Olympic Committee announced Wednesday that Tigiev, 29, was disqualified from the men’s 74kg freestyle wrestling event in which the wrestler from Uzbekistan came in third place.

After competing in the Aug. 10 event, Tigiev provided a urine sample that tested positive for methylhexaneamine, a prohibited substance in Olympic competitions, the IOC said.

The Olympic governing body’s executive board decided to disqualify Tigiev and strip the medal, diploma and medalist pin that he won at the 2012 London Games.

“The NOC (National Olympic Committee) of Uzbekistan is ordered to return to the IOC, as soon as possible, the medal, diploma and medalist pin awarded to the athlete in relation to the above-noted event,” the IOC said Wednesday.

With Tigiev being stripped of his bronze medal, the fourth place finisher in the men’s 74kg wrestling event, Gabor Hatos of Hungary, will be awarded the bronze medal, the IOC announced.

The body conducted doping tests for the 2012 London Olympics from July 16, when the Olympic Village opened, until Aug. 12.

“Within that period, the IOC systematically performed tests before and after events. After each event, the IOC carried out tests on the top five finishers plus two at random,” the IOC said in its statement stripping Tigiev of his bronze medal. “The IOC also performed unannounced, out-of-competition tests. Over the course of the London Games, the IOC carried out some 5,000 tests -- 3,800 urine and 1,200 blood.”

Besides having his bronze medal stripped, Tigiev may also be suspended anywhere from several months to two years, the Associated Press reported.

Tigiev, who won a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, has the right to challenge the IOC’s determination.

He was one of nine Olympic athletes found guilty of doping at the London Games, according to the AP. Most offenders were not caught during the games; their violations came from tests taken before their competitions or well before the Games began, the AP reported.