Celebrating Olympic Golds, North Korea Vows to Be Sports Power
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THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016 SPORTS 3 Olympic weightlifting gold medalists fail doping retests BUDAPEST: Three Olympic champion 2012 games. They are all provisionally rent world record holder Andrei Rybakou 2008 who did not win medals were also retests. One medal, the silver won by weightlifters from China and eight other suspended until the doping cases are of Belarus, who won silver in 2008. All named as having failed tests. They Turkey’s Sibel Ozkan in the women’s 48- medalists stand to be stripped of their resolved. tested positive for various anabolic include Kazakhstan’s Maiya Maneza and kilogram class, has already been titles after failing retests of their doping The IWF said in a statement on its steroids, according to the IWF. Belarus’ Iryna Kulesha, both of whom stripped. samples from the 2008 Olympics. website Wednesday that Chinese gold The other medalists are Anastasia won medals in 2012 but not 2008 and The retests are part of an ongoing The International Weightlifting medalists Cao Lei, Liu Chunhong and Novikova of Belarus, Kazakhstan’s Maria are already suspended over retests from process led by the International Olympic Federation says the 11 tested positive for Chen Xiexia all tested positive for GHRP- Grabovetskaya and Irina Nekrasova, 2012. Committee. Weightlifting at this month’s a range of banned substances in the lat- 2, which stimulates growth hormone Russia’s Khadzhimurat Akkaev and A further 10 lifters who competed at Rio Olympics has also been marred by est scandal to shake the sport, which is production, while Liu also tested positive Dmitry Lapikov, and Ukraine’s Natalya the 2008 Olympics, including five medal- doping, with Kyrgyzstan’s Izzat Artykov already processing retests which caught for the stimulant sibutramine. Davydova and Olha Korobka. ists, had already been suspended in June losing his bronze medal after testing numerous medalists from the 2008 and The other eight medalists include cur- Four other weightlifters from Beijing and July after failing an earlier wave of positive. —AP Celebrating Olympic golds, North Korea vows to be sports power PYONGYANG: Despite claiming into a player to be reckoned with on appears to have been pulled NBA star Dennis Rodman, one of the only two gold medals in Rio, North the global sports stage is one of straight out of the playbook of for- only foreigners to ever meet with Korea is as determined as ever to ful- Kim’s pet projects, and he has mer Soviet bloc countries like East Kim. He then grabbed a ball embla- fill one of leader Kim Jong Un’s pri- poured funds into the development Germany, and is similar to the zoned with “Naesongsan,” his facto- mary goals: To become an interna- and training of promising athletes strong political significance sports ry’s brand. tional sports superpower. over the past several years. are still given in Russia and China, “Our balls are good enough to be North Korea’s small Olympic It has already made a visible North Korea’s two biggest historical used by the NBA, too,” he said. North team won its two golds in weightlift- mark on Pyongyang. The relatively backers. Koreans are able to follow the ing, where it has a number of world- affluent capital has seen the rise of But the campaign is also seen as Olympics, or at least some selected class and world-record-holding a number of major new or renovat- part of Kim’s effort to make North events, on TV and radio broadcasts lifters, and gymnastics. Weightlifter ed sports venues, and each year its Korea a more modern nation. and in newspapers, all of which are Rim Jong Sim won the gold in the usually restricted streets are opened “There are two reasons why sports run by the state. women’s 75-kilogram division, while for the Pyongyang Marathon, which are important,” Jang Sok Ha, manag- “I watched the games every day,” gymnast Ri Se Gwang won the has become a major tourist attrac- er of the newly opened Pyongyang said housewife Hong Un Byol, 34. “I men’s vault. The North also won tion. Though pickup volleyball Sports Equipment Factory, told The was so happy to see our national flag three silver and two bronze medals. games and football matches in Associated Press on Monday. raised after the gold medals. The ath- “When our Rim Jong Sim stood schoolyards have long been a sta- “People in good health can work letes practiced a lot to give pleasure SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull looks at the bronze on the podium with our national ple in the city, it’s now a common harder, but they also need cultural to the Marshal.” Kim is often respect- medal of Australian Olympic team member Jessica Fox (L) during the wel- anthem playing, she cried and my sight to see young people out jog- rest and recreation.” fully referred to by that title, one of the many that he holds. come ceremony of the Rio Olympic team in Sydney yesterday. Australia set Beyond the playing field, sports aside squabbles over under-performing athletes to welcome home the Rio have from time to time provided games team as heroes. —AFP brief respites in the normally tense relations between the two Koreas. Australia sets aside woes During the 2000 Sydney Olympics, North and South Koreans marched for Rio ‘champions’ welcome together under a flag that symbol- ized unification. North Korea’s SYDNEY: Australia set aside squabbles the public, was equally positive. “Our 421 women’s soccer team won gold at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, over under-performing athletes yesterday athletes went to Rio and did their absolute South Korea, with the South winning to welcome home the Rio Olympics team best and that is all that we ever asked of bronze. Many South Koreans delight- as heroes. Generous public funding for a anyone,” she said. ed in seeing players from both coun- return of just half the expected medal tally “This was a games where we demon- tries celebrate together after the Australia’s worst performance since strated the strength of our youth. Sixty- medal ceremony. Barcelona in 1992 — have sparked recrimi- five percent of our team were Olympic While such sentiments were gen- nations. rookies and 43 percent were under the age erally absent during the Rio But Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of 25,” Chiller said, looking forward to Olympics, one of the most touching made light of such woes in leading the Tokyo 2020. moments came when gymnasts tributes at a packed ceremony in an aircraft “Our Olympic team is not just about Hong Un Jong of North Korea and hangar at Sydney airport. medals. Our team culture and respect for Lee Eun-ju of South Korea met on the “Every single one of you is a champion,” one another has been a key part of this sidelines during their event and he told the cheering crowd. “Our perform- journey.” posed together smiling for a selfie. ance is not just measured by the final Chiller admitted that “Rio certainly had Photos of their warm moments medal tally. “We are committed to support- its challenges” after the Australian team at delighted many South Koreans and ing Australian sport, both our participants first refused to move into sub-standard provided a rare note of concord in at the grassroots level, the young boys and accommodation, but added: “The village otherwise abysmal relations between girls starting out, and elite athletes like was the best ever, eventually.” the rivals. yourselves,” Turnbull said. The end of the games saw relations PYONGYANG: Youths play with a ball during a break at Pyongyang International Football School Officially, however, both countries Australia finished 10th on the medals fracture between the Australian Olympic in Pyongyang, North Korea, yesterday. North Korea has poured funds into the development and frown on such meetings. The Korean table with eight gold, 11 silver and 10 Committee and the government-funded training of promising athletes over the past several years in an effort to fulfill one of leader Kim Peninsula is still technically in a state bronze medals. “On behalf of all Australian Sports Commission (ASC) in a Jong Un’s primary goals to become a country be reckoned with on the global sports stage. —AP of war because there has been no Australians, congratulations... welcome stormy debate over the appointment of peace treaty signed to officially end home, well done,” the prime minister businessmen as heads of Olympic sports. mother and I cried, too, as we ging or even canoeing on the two AFFORDABLE SPORTS EQUIPMENT the 1950-53 Korean War. Nearly added. Australia’s highly ranked swimmers watched on TV,” Ri Yun Gum, an 18- main rivers that run through Jang’s sparkling new factory, 30,000 US troops are stationed in Chef de mission Kitty Chiller, who had were at the vanguard of medal hopes but year-old government worker, said Pyongyang. which opened in April, is a big part of South Korea in what Seoul and to explain so many failures and missteps to came away with just three gold. —AFP Monday in Pyongyang as the Rio And while South Korea lets its the drive and is one of the largest in Washington claim is a necessary games were coming to a close. “I top athletes get out of military serv- the country. Its task is to provide reg- deterrent to any threats from North think our athletes are able to win ice as a gold medal reward, elite ular people affordable sports equip- Korea. Turning up the heat, the US Brazilian police say evidence not just because they train hard, but athletes returning home to the ment - from soccer balls to bad- and South Korea just kicked off annu- because of their mental toughness.” North after winning international minton rackets.