December 20-2013
. . . out for life
Amir-Aziz Ali-Akbari, who won the world championship in Greco-Roman heavyweight wrestling in September, has been stripped of his gold medal and banned from wrestling for life for drug use, the International Wrestling Federation (FILA) announced Saturday.
The action was a serious blow to Iranian wrestling, but there was no suggestion that the Iranian Wrestling Federation had aided Ali-Akbari in drug use.
In 2011, Ali-Akbari was given a two-year suspension for drug use. As a result, he missed the 2012 Olympics. That suspension expired in July and he was eligible for the 2013 World Championships held in September in Budapest, Hungary, where he won gold.
As result of urine tests taken of all winners, FILA said it was discovered that Ali-Akbari had taken anabolic steroids, which are forbidden. Since this was his second drug offense, Ali-Akbari, 26, was automatically banned for life.
Ali-Akbari insisted he had not taken any drugs knowingly. He told reporters in Tehran that he may have tested positive as a result of a pill given to him at the World Championships by the Bulgarian coach of Azerbaijan’s wrestling team, whom he met in the message room. He said he could think of nothing else he took that could have produced a positive result.
“I swear to God that all I say is honest and right,” he said. “I never did the doping they accuse me of, and I am ready to go to whatever court there is.”
FILA President Nenad Lalovic said, “We are serious about making our sport drug free and protecting those athletes who are abiding by the rules. It has not been a problem for us in the past and we want to continue that pattern in our sport.”
No one else was disciplined for drug use at this year’s World Championships.
The wrestler Ali-Akbari defeated in the finals, Heiki Nabi of Estonia, has now been awarded the gold. Turkey’s Riza Kayaalp moved up to silver and Sweden’s Johan Magnus Euren moved up to bronze.
Iran finished the Greco-Roman team rankings in fourth place with 29 points, including 10 points for Ali-Akbari’s gold. With his disqualification, Iran sank to 19 team points and eighth place in Greco-Roman. Iran finished first in freestyle.
While Ali-Akbari loses the gold he won in 2013 in the 120-kilo weight division, he will keep the gold he won in the 2010 World Championships in the 96-kilo division.