IWF may ban Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus from Rio Games

An employee of the Russia's national drug-testing laboratory holds a vial in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, May 24, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

PARIS - The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) on Wednesday announced that Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus may face being banned from the Rio Olympics over repeat doping offences.

The IWF executive decided in a meeting on Wednesday that countries with three or more failed tests among the suspicious cases would be banned for a year. It named Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus as the countries facing suspension.

The IWF executive announced this month that 20 suspicious cases had been found in retests of samples from the 2008 and 2012 Olympics in Beijing and London.

A final decision will be taken after the International Olympic Committee confirms whether the second samples from the weightlifters were also positive.

The IWF has already banned Bulgaria from the Olympics for doping.