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CLEAN 鈥 Jeane Lassen competes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in this file photo. After a string of positive doping retests, she sits unofficially in fifth place. She finished 8th in 2008.

Retired weightlifter could see 2008 Olympic result improve

Every morning Jeane Lassen wakes up, it seems there鈥檚 news from the International Weightlifting Federation.

By Marissa Tiel on September 2, 2016

Every morning Jeane Lassen wakes up, it seems there鈥檚 news from the International Weightlifting Federation.

This year the IOC has been retesting urine samples from the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics. The samples are frozen for 10 years so that when new testing methods become available, the samples can be reanalyzed.

On Aug. 31, Russian weightlifter Nadezhda Evstiukhina鈥檚 third place 75 kg finish was annulled from the 2008 Olympic results. after she tested positive for anabolic agents.

It was the same event that Lassen competed in and finished eighth. Evstiukhina鈥檚 sample was tested in the first of four expected waves of reanalysis ordered by the IOC.

In the second wave two more positives from Lassen鈥檚 event were detected: Lei Cao of China won gold, while Iryna Kulesha of Belarus was fourth.

鈥淚n line with the relevant rules and regulations, the IWF imposed mandatory provisional suspensions upon the (a)thletes, who remain provisionally suspended in view of potential anti-doping rule violations until their cases are closed,鈥 a public disclosure statement by the IWF said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been pretty heartbreaking for my sport,鈥 said Lassen. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really rough times for weightlifting.鈥

Eight years after the Beijing Olympics, a third of the women Lassen have competed against have tested positive in the retests. Two have been disqualified. Lassen currently sits seventh, but she could move up to fifth if Cao and Kulesha are both disqualified.

That would leave her in fifth place, behind Kazakhstan, Spain, Mexico and Colombia and five kilograms away from the podium, with two waves of testing still to go.

The what-ifs are starting to creep into Lassen鈥檚 head, haunting the results.

鈥淗ad I made one more lift, I would have made bronze,鈥 she said earlier this week.

Canadian athletes follow strict protocols for drug testing, including filling out a wherabouts form that details their location for three months at a time.

Testers can knock on your door at any time to ask for a sample. The earliest Lassen, who retired from the sport in 2012, had to pee for them was 5:30 a.m.

She鈥檚 unsure if these standards are being met in other countries.

It can feel heavy and discouraging at times knowing the system wasn鈥檛 fair or level, she said. 鈥淎t the end of the day, the reason I did my sport is because I loved it and I was passionate about it.

鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to get caught up in the what if, what if.鈥

Following her injury five days after qualifying for the London Games, Lassen went to the 2012 Games as a coach for her friend, Christine Girard, whom she鈥檇 been training with in B.C. leading up to the Games.

Girard won bronze at those Olympics and following the retests, she now stands to become the Olympic champion.

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard not to feel ripped off for your friend,鈥 said Lassen, noting that if Girard鈥檚 medal is upgraded to gold, she won鈥檛 get to see her flag raised or hear the Canadian anthem played at the Olympic ceremony. 鈥淚t鈥檚 bittersweet times for sure.鈥

By Marissa Tiel, Star Sports Editor

Comments (1)

Up 5 Down 0

Arturs on Sep 2, 2016 at 5:31 pm

People have recently seen the kind of effort that goes into winning an Olympic medal. Congratulations Jeane and I hope you move up some more deserved spots as well as doing well in the election. Go Takhini/Kopper-King!

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