Two young athletes failed a doping test at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore and have consequently been debarred by the International Olympics Committee (IOC). Unbelievably both athletes were participating in the same sport, wrestling, and were all seventeen. One was a silver medalist.

On Friday, the body released a statement saying that Nurbek Hakkulov (Uzbekistan) and Johnny Pilay (Ecuadorean) tested for a banned substance, diuretic furosemide. The tests were conducted on their urine samples taken in August during the games.

Hakkulov, was the silver medalist in the boys’ Greco-Roman group, while Pilay managed a fifth place finish in the freestyle 63kg category.

The Ecuador’s Olympic Committee has moved with speed and banned Pilay for a two year period.
The IOC has also asked FILA, wrestling’s own governing body, to cooperate with the Uzbek and Ecuadorean Olympic bodies to look into the conditions leading to the drug use and advise the coaches and team doctors.

The IOC reiterated that it was putting efforts to examine the surrounding of the competitors and begged that the young stars be educated on the effects of doping. The body also went ahead and stated that the players be provided with leniency, by FILA, as a reward for their cooperation during the investigations.

Consequently, Hakkulov’s award was given to Shadybek Sulaimanov (Kyrgyzstan) who was placed third in the games and Johan Rodriguez Banguela (Cuba) moved on to collect the bronze from the Cuban.

1,231 doping tests were conducted by IOC at the event and the samples would be stored by freezing for future tests, as better and more reliable testing methods were developed.

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