Weightlifting: Decisions rendered by the Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS ADD) concerning Mr Tamás Aján (HUN) and Mr Nicu Vlad (ROM)
Lausanne, 16 June 2022 - The Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS ADD) has issued the following decisions in relation to two former senior officials of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF):
In relation to the former IWF Secretary General and former IWF President, also former member of the International Olympic Committee (“IOC”) and former council member of the World Anti-Doping Agency (“WADA”), Mr Tamás Aján:
- Mr Aján is found to have committed violations of Articles 2.5 and 2.8 of the 2009 International Weightlifting Anti-Doping Rules, Articles 2.5 and 2.8 of the 2012 International Weightlifting Anti- Doping Rules and Articles 2.5 and 2.9 of the 2015 International Weightlifting Anti-Doping Rules (tampering, which includes engaging in any fraudulent conduct to alter results or prevent normal procedure from occurring and complicity involving an anti-doping rule violation).
- Lifetime ineligibility is imposed on Mr Aján commencing on 16 June 2022.
In relation to the former IWF President, also former Head-Coach of the Romanian Weightlifting Federation, former Vice-President of the IWF Anti-Doping Commission and former Chairman of the IWF Technical Committee, Mr Nicu Vlad:
- Mr Vlad is found to have committed violations of Article 2.8 of the 2009 International Weightlifting
Anti-Doping Rules (complicity involving an anti-doping rule violation). - Lifetime ineligibility is imposed on Mr Vlad commencing on 16 June 2022.
In December 2021, the International Testing Agency (ITA) acting on delegation from the IWF, filed requests for arbitration at the CAS ADD asserting Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) against the former IWF officials in relation to their alleged involvement in tampering with the doping control process and complicity in anti-doping rule violations involving multiple weightlifting athletes over a period of many years since 2012.
The ADRVs asserted against both former IWF officials were proven to the comfortable satisfaction of the CAS ADD Sole Arbitrator. Given the seriousness of the ADRVs and the length of time over which they were committed, the CAS ADD Sole Arbitrator found lifetime ineligibility to be the appropriate sanction.
The CAS ADD awards will be published on the CAS website in due course.
The original press release can be found here : https://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/CAS_ADD_Media_Release_ADD_41_42.pdf
