Athlete banned for doping

A 24-year-old weightlifting athlete has been banned for two years after testing positive for anabolic agents, the Cyprus Anti-Doping Authority (CyADA) announced.

Demetris Minasides’ ban started on April 26 last year and will be in place until April 25, 2014, CyADA said.

He had been tested in March last year, with results coming back positive a month later. 

In the meantime, however, Minasides had competed in the European weightlifting games in Turkey, where he took second place and qualified for the London Olympics.

He was subsequently stripped of his medal and did not take part in the Olympics.

The apparent delay is partly due to the fact that Cyprus must send its samples abroad for testing by laboratories approved by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

In this case, the samples were sent to Germany, with the Easter holidays causing even more delay.

CyADA also said it had carried out 52 doping tests in November and December last year. Of those tested, 28 were footballers, 12 basketball players, eight volleyball players, and four handball players.

The results have not been received yet.

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