Dmitry Klokov is among five retired Russian weightlifters to have been banned for historical doping offences ©Getty Images

Five retired Russian weightlifters, three of whom lost Olympic silver medals at London 2012 because of doping violations, have been suspended for periods of 18 months to four years for historic offences.

All five had been provisionally suspended 14 months ago for using banned substances in February 2012, based on evidence taken from the Moscow Laboratory during an investigation into state-sponsored doping in Russia.

The biggest name among the five is Dmitry Klokov, the only one who won and kept an Olympic medal. 

He is suspended for four years.

Klokov, second at Beijing 2008 at 105kg, has not lifted for 12 years but has nearly 500,000 followers on social media because of his popularity in CrossFit and other strength sports.

Natalya Zabolotnaya had already been stripped of the Olympic silver medal she had won at London 2012 because of doping ©Getty Images
Natalya Zabolotnaya had already been stripped of the Olympic silver medal she had won at London 2012 because of doping ©Getty Images

The three London 2012 silver medallists, all disqualified when stored samples came up positive for turinabol in 2016, are Natalya Zabolotnaya, Svetlana Tsarukayeva and Apti Aukhadov.

Zabolotnaya and Tsarukayeva, both banned for two years, last lifted in 2012, and Aukhadov, suspended for 18 months, has not competed since 2019.

Olga Zubova, the fifth Russian to be suspended, won European senior and world junior titles within two months of the 2012 offence. 

She last competed in 2015.

The International Testing Agency (ITA), which conducts all anti-doping procedures for the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), has informed the Russian Weightlifting Federation of the decisions, according to the Russia’s official state news agency TASS.

Svetlana Tsarukayeva has been banned from the sport for two years, despite not having competed since 2012 ©Getty Images
Svetlana Tsarukayeva has been banned from the sport for two years, despite not having competed since 2012 ©Getty Images

Russia was banned from weightlifting at 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and was restricted to two quota places at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games because of its historic doping record.

Its athletes have been cleared to compete as neutrals in qualifying for Paris 2024 and are entered in the next qualifying event, the IWF Grand Prix in Cuba next month.

The maximum quota of athletes for Paris is six per nation, three of each gender.