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Olympic medals returned to two Belarusian hammer throwers

Olympic medals were returned to two Belarusian hammer throwers in a ceremony held in Minsk on Thursday, BelaPAN reports.

Vadzim Dzevyatowski (Vadim Devyatovskiy) and Ivan Tsikhan won the silver and the bronze, respectively, at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but were stripped of the medals after they tested positive for abnormal levels of testosterone.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the athletes’ appeal in June, explaining that the Beijing National Laboratory, which carried out the tests, had violated “documentation and reporting requirements.”

If the guys were weak men, they would have failed to bear this legal battle, which lasted almost two years, Henadz Alyakseyenka, first vice president of the National Olympic Committee, said at the ceremony.

Champions and medal winners of the 1960 Rome Olympics and the 1980 Moscow Olympics were also honored at the ceremony.

In photos:
1 – (from left to right) Vadzim Dzevyatowski and Ivan Tsikhan;
3 – Leanid Taranenka, a 1980 Olympic weightlifting champion in the 110kg category;
4 – (from left to right) Leanid Heyshtar and Syarhey Makaranka, 1960 Olympic rowing champions;
5 – Antanina Pilipenka (Melnikava), a bronze medal winner in rowing at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow;
6 – Pop singer Viktoryya Aleshka dances with Vadzim Dzevyatowski;
7 – Three-time Olympic wrestling champion Alyaksandr Myadzvedz (Alexander Medved);
8 – Olympic handball champion Alyaksandr Karshakevich sings in duo with pop star Janet.