Vietnamese weightlifting world champion gets four-year doping ban

By Nguyen Quy   August 27, 2019 | 12:17 am PT
Vietnamese weightlifting world champion gets four-year doping ban
Weightlifter Trinh Van Vinh failed a doping test in November 2018. Photo courtesy of the International Weightlifting Federation.
Trinh Van Vinh, Vietnam's most prominent weightlifter, has been fined $5,000 and slapped with a four-year ban for doping violations.

Vinh, 24, will be banned from taking part in any type of weightlifting tournament and competition at home and abroad until February 2023, including SEA Games 2019 and Olympic 2020, according to the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF).

The federation had announced in February that Vinh had failed a doping test, with his urine containing traces of exogenous testosterone, a substance banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

At the Asian Games 2018 held August 18 to September 2 in Indonesia's Jakarta, Vinh won a silver medal in the 61 kilogram category, his urine samples had tested negative for doping.

But three months later, when Vinh was participating in the National Games in November, he failed tests carried out by IWF experts.

Vinh is the most renowned weightlifting athlete in Vietnam. He won a gold medal at the Asia Weightlifting Championships in 2016 and two silvers in 2017. At the SEA Games 29 in 2017, Vinh won a gold medal in the 62 kilogram category with a games record.

Also in 2017, he reached the zenith of his career by winning gold at the World Weightlifting Championship, lifting a total weight of 136 kilograms.

Vietnamese female weightlifting athlete Nguyen Thi Phuong Thanh of Hanoi has also been fined $5,000 fine and banned from participating in any tournament until September 2022 for doping violations.

Her urine was found containing traces of androstane, a steroid banned by the federation, while preparing for the National Games last November.

 
 
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