22nd September 2004

Two weightlifters from Azerbaijan have been banned from competition for life after testing positive for drugs, in the first doping cases during the Athens Paralympics.

A previous banning of a Candian Paralympic athlete was as the result of a pre-tournament positive test.
See: Drugs scandal leaves Canada with a man less

Goundouz Ismayilov and Sara Abbasova, who were to compete in the men's 90kg and the women's 82.5kg events, tested positive for steroids, the International Paralympic Committe said.

Ismayilov, 31 was caught using stanozolol. Abbasova, 28, had used nandrolone.

The two athletes had in the past been punished with a two-year ban for using illegal substances

These are the first doping cases to be revealed out of 335 drug tests conducted since the Paralympics began on September 17