IOC sanctions Olympic champion's son, Norik Vardanyan

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian weightlifter Norik (Norayr) Vardanyan has been disqualified from the London 2012 Olympics, the International Olympic Committee said.

Vardanyan tested positive for banned substance while competing for Armenia at the event.

Four athletes have been disqualified overall from the London 2012 Olympics: Turkish weightlifter Sibel Simsek, Azerbaijani lifter Intigam Zairov and Vardanyan.

Also, three Chinese weightlifters were stripped of their Beijing Olympic Games gold medals having tested positive for banned substances.

In addition to the three Chinese women, the IOC announced on Thursday, January 13 that five more athletes have been sanctioned following positive drugs tests.

Vardanyan was previously banned for six months in 2009 after testing positive for cannabis.He is the son of legendary Soviet weightlifter Yuri Vardanyan, who won a gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics, becoming the world's first weightlifter to achieve a 400 kilogram total in the 82.5 kg weight category.