Doping-IOC strips three more medals from 2008, 2012 Games re-tests

AARHUS, Denmark, April 5 (Reuters) - Uzbeki wrestler Artur Taymazov was stripped of his freestyle gold medal from the Beijing 2008 Olympics 96-120kg category following a positive doping sample in re-testing, the International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday. Fellow wrestler Vasyl Fedoryshyn of Ukraine, who won silver in the men's 55-60kg freestyle event at the same Games, was also disqualified along with Russian Svetlana Tzarukaeva, who won silver in the London 2012 women’s 63kg weightlifting event. All three tested positive for the anabolic steroid turinabol. More than 100 athletes have had positive results in re-tests of samples taken during the London and Beijing 2008 Olympics conducted by the IOC. The re-testing programme is part of the IOC's efforts to catch cheats using newer testing methods or looking for substances that were not known at the time of past Olympics, and to prevent them from competing in future Games. Samples are stored for a decade, and for the 2008 and 2012 re-tests Russia has had the most positive cases per nation. (Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Hugh Lawson)