BELARUS: OLYMPICS: President Alexander Lukashenko awards Olympians, including women's shot put champion Nadzeya Ostapchuk, who was stripped of her Olympic gold medal after testing positive for a banned steroid

Record ID: 331118

  • Title: BELARUS: OLYMPICS: President Alexander Lukashenko awards Olympians, including women's shot put champion Nadzeya Ostapchuk, who was stripped of her Olympic gold medal after testing positive for a banned steroid
  • Date: 24th August 2012
  • Summary: MINSK, BELARUS (AUGUST 23, 2012) (REUTERS) ***CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** BELARUSSIAN OLYMPIC ATHLETES SITTING AT ROUND TABLE BELARUSSIAN COAT OF ARMS ON WALL ATHLETES SITTING AT TABLE BELARUSSIAN SHOTPUTTER NADZEYA OSTAPCHUK SITTING AT TABLE PHOTOGRAPHER TAKING PHOTOS ATHLETES STANDING FOR BELARUSSIAN PRESIDENT ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) BELARUSSIAN PRESIDENT ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO, SAYING: "Your success made us happy and inspired us. I am sincerely grateful to you that Belarus in London was represented at the very highest level." CAMERA (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) BELARUSSIAN PRESIDENT ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO, SAYING: "Regretfully, several of the tasks set before our team were not fulfilled. Unfortunately, not everyone managed to cope with the tension, concentrate on a victory amid very tough competition with rivals. To put it straight, some were outright unprepared to perform at the Olympic Games." OLYMPIC TEAM OFFICIALS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) BELARUSSIAN PRESIDENT ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO, SAYING: "In comparison to previous Olympic games on the medal count, we rolled down. In some kinds of sports the results are simply depressing. This will be a matter for a separate serious discussion after a detailed analysis of the results of the performance of our Olympic athletes." OSTAPCHUK LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) BELARUSSIAN PRESIDENT ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO, SAYING: "Ahead of us there's the Sochi Olympics and Rio de Janeiro. We need the courage to admit the mistakes we made, learn from our experience and work very hard to achieve good results." LUKASHENKO FINISHING HIS SPEECH CAMERAMEN VARIOUS OF OSTAPCHUK WALKING TO LUKASHENKO AND GETTING MEDAL PHOTOGRAPHERS VARIOUS OF BELARUSSIAN SHOOTER SERGEI MARTYNOV GETTING AWARD FROM LUKASHENKO ATHLETES LISTENING LUKASHENKO AWARDING ATHLETE
  • Embargoed: 8th September 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Belarus
  • Country: Belarus
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA3W7CGD7N21869LP3BSLB8SFT2
  • Story Text: Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko awarded his country's Olympic medalists on Thursday (August 23), including Olympic women's shot put champion Nadzeya Ostapchuk, who was stripped of the gold medal she won at the London Games after testing positive for a banned anabolic steroid.
    "Your success made us happy and inspired us. I am sincerely grateful to you that Belarus in London was represented at the very highest level," he said.
    However, Lukashenko, the man once called "the last dictator in Europe", criticised the overall medal count and called for a reevaluation of the Olympic team's performance.
    "Regretfully, several of the tasks set before our team were not fulfilled. Unfortunately, not everyone managed to cope with the tension, concentrate on a victory amid very tough competition with rivals. To put it straight, some were outright unprepared to perform at the Olympic Games," adding, "In comparison to previous Olympic games on the medal count, we rolled down. In some kinds of sports the results are simply depressing. This will be a matter for a separate serious discussion after a detailed analysis of the results of the performance of our Olympic athletes."
    The president said he was shifting his sights to upcoming competitions, where the team should prosper.
    "Ahead of us there's the Sochi Olympics and Rio de Janeiro. We need the courage to admit the mistakes we made, learn from our experience and work very hard to achieve good results," Lukashenko said.
    Lukashenko presented state awards, letters of thanks and honorary titles to the athletes and their coaches. Each athlete, wearing creme Belarussian linen jackets embroidered with the state seal, was presented a medal and bouquet by Lukashenko.
    Two urine samples taken from Ostapchuk before and after her win tested positive for metenolone, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in a statement the day after the Games ended. Belarus had been ordered to return Ostapchuk's gold medal which would now be awarded to New Zealand's Valerie Adams.
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