WEIGHTLIFTER CHAKHOYAN BANNED FOR LIFE AFTER 2ND DOPING OFFENCE

Reuters , UK
April 5 2007

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Former world champion weightlifter Sergo Chakhoyan
has been banned for life after a second doping offence, the Australian
Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) announced on Thursday.

ASADA said Chakhoyan had tested positive for the banned stimulant
benzylpiperazine (BZP) during the Commonwealth, Oceania and South
Pacific championships at Melbourne in October 2005.

Chakhoyan, 37, had previously been suspended for two years after
testing positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol at the 2001
Goodwill Games in Brisbane.

Under world anti-doping rules, a second offence incurs an automatic
life ban.

"This was a case where the athlete took a prohibited substance
immediately prior to or during a competition without any apparent
regard as to whether the substance was prohibited in competition,"
the Court for Arbitration in Sport (CAS) said in a statement released
by ASADA.

"When viewed in the totality of the circumstances and taking into
account the criteria for no fault or negligence the respondent’s
fault or negligence was significant."

Chakhoyan was born in Armenia but moved to Australia in 1997 and
competed for his adopted country at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. He
won the 85 kilogram world title in 2003.

Chakhoyan is one of four Australian weightlifters to test positive
for benzylpiperazine in the last 18 months, prompting ASADA to launch
an investigation into weightlifting in Australia.