The IOC adopted the corresponding decision after re-testing doping probes. Artur Taymazov won gold in the men’s 96-120kg freestyle wrestling at Beijing. Reanalysis of his samples tested positive for the banned steroids turinabol and stanozolol.

“I have always earned my medals in honest struggle. I have never used illegal drugs. For the past 16 years, I have passed a doping tests several times in the year, and not a single doping test gave a positive result,” Taymazov said.

“When you become a champion, you inscribe your nation, your people in Golden letters in the history. At this moment, you begin to understand responsibility differently: you feel that people look not only personally at you, but at all your nation. And you have no margin for error, especially for some dishonest acts,” he noted.

“I consider it absolutely inadmissible to discredit the good name of the athlete. I intend to challenge the decision of the IOC,” the athlete said.