The doping testing of North Korean athletes has been incomplete.
North Korea weightlifters made a huge comeback to the international competitions over the weekend. Two female weightlifters broke a total of five world records and won two gold medals at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
Ri Song-gum won the 49 kg category and set two world records. He defeated, among others, the Chinese world champion Jiang Huihuan, which also previously held world records. Rin’s result was 92+124=216.
In the 55 kg category, North Korea took a double victory. Kang Hyong-yong encouraged with the result 103+130=233 all three world records. Ri Su-yeon took silver and China Hou Zhihui bronze. Hou has Olympic gold in the 49 kg category.
The North Koreans returned to competitions after years. Rin’s previous international race was in 2019 and Kang’s in 2017, when he still competed in the junior series.
“During the Corona period, I did a lot of hard training and that’s why I now achieved an excellent result and broke the world record,” said Ri, who follows Olympic sports of the Inside The Game website by.
“I trained in my home country and participated in several national competitions.”
North Korea weightlifters were supposed to participate in the International Weightlifting Federation gp competition in Cuba last June, but they missed the competition anyway.
Even the mere acceptance of North Koreans into competitions has caused criticism, because it is not possible to do doping tests for North Korean athletes outside of competitions.
The International Weightlifting Federation voted on a new rule according to which countries where it is not possible to freely test athletes are no longer allowed to participate in the federation’s competitions. The new rule will enter into force on January 1, 2024.
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