IOC sanctions two Beijing Olympians including Cuba silver medalist

ZURICH (Reuters) – The International Olympic Committee said on Thursday it has disqualified two athletes from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, including a Cuban discus silver medalist, after retesting of samples found evidence they had used banned substances.

Cuba’s Yarelys Barrios, who placed second in the discus in Beijing, tested positive for the masking agent acetazolamide, according to a re-analysis by the IOC.

Samuel Adelebari Francis of Qatar, who was sixteenth in the 100 meters event, was disqualified after the IOC’s re-analysis resulted in a positive test for the steroid stanozol.

(Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields)