FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 6, 2012 file photo Keitani Graham of Micronesia competes against Charles Edward Betts of the United States, right, during the 84-kg Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, in London. An official familiar with the decision says IOC leaders have dropped wrestling from the program for the 2020 Olympics. In a surprise decision Tuesday Feb. 12, 2013, the official tells The Associated Press that the IOC executive board decided to retain modern pentathlon and remove wrestling instead. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
IOC strips 2004 bronze medal from Russian lifter
Published: 05:24:03 PM, Tue 12 February 2013 UTC
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The IOC has stripped a Russian weightlifter of his bronze medal from the 2004 Athens Olympics following retesting of his doping samples.
The IOC asked the Russian Olympic Committee on Tuesday to return Oleg Perepechenov's medal as soon as possible.
Perepechenov tested positive for clenbuterol when his stored samples were reanalyzed last year. He finished third in the 77-kilogram event in Athens.
The bronze now stands to go to the fourth-place finisher, Reyhan Arabacioglu of Turkey.
Four other athletes caught in Athens retests were ordered to hand back their medals in December, including shot put gold medalist Yuriy Bilonog of Ukraine.
Since Athens, the IOC has been storing doping samples from each Olympics for eight years to allow for retesting when new detection methods become available.
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