Georgian Athletes Face Four-Year Suspensions Amid Doping Scandal
Four Georgian athletes, including Revaz Davitadze and Nika Kentchadze, received four-year suspensions after the Court of Arbitration for Sport disputed a civil court decision regarding their doping tests. Despite a ruling that their drinks were tampered with, scientific evidence favored the ban, upheld by CAS and WADA.
In a significant blow to Georgian sports, weightlifter Revaz Davitadze and wrestler Nika Kentchadze have been handed four-year suspensions after tests revealed the presence of a banned substance. Despite claims their drinks were tampered with, the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the sanctions.
Both athletes, previously cleared by a local court citing drink contamination, were suspended after testing positive for ostarine in 2023. The World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Weightlifting Federation challenged the local decision, prompting the CAS intervention.
'The CAS arbitrator determined that the initial judgment lacked proper investigation and contradicted scientific findings,' read a statement, confirming the athletes' ban effective from September 30, acknowledging credit for provisional suspensions already served.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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