Armenia’s Simon Marirosyan to Receive Rio 2016 Olympic Games Gold

YEREVAN — Armenian weightlifter Simon Martirosyan, Rio 2016 Olympic Games silver medalist, is set to receive the Olympic gold in January 2020, head coach of Armenia’s weightlifting team Pashik Alaverdyan told Public Radio of Armenia.

Uzbek weightlifter Ruslan Nurudinov had won the gold medal during the games, but after positive doping results he was disqualified and striped from his medal.

The International Olympic Committee stores and regularly re-tests samples from past Games with methods that did not exist at the time. It also carries out tests for substances that were previously unknown in order to protect clean athletes and the integrity of the competition.

“The International Weightlifting Federation has already congratulated us on Simon Martirosyan’s gold medal, as 2016 Olympic champion Ruslan Nurudinov of Uzbekistan has tested positive on doping,” the coach said.

Simon Martirosyan won the silver medal at Rio Olympics with a result of 417 kg.