8 Turks Fail Doping Test in Gateshead

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"Sabah" newspaper and other media reported on Friday that eight Turkish athletes, who competed at European Athletics Team Championship in Gateshead last weekend,  have failed doping tests.


One of the eight athletes mentioned in list was Esref Apak, who won a silver medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004.

"Despite our close monitoring, an athlete can do it if he's determined to do it. Whoever does it must be caught and punished," Terzi, a former athlete, said to media.

"Unfortunately there is an impression that athletes or coaches are being protected. No athlete or coach is being protected... Our approach towards this issue has always been 'zero tolerance'," Terzi added.

The report said that 15 Turkish athletes had tested positive for banned substances in the last month in Turkey including eight athletes from Gateshead European Cup Team.

Last month, Asli Cakir Alptekin who won gold in London Olympics faced a lifetime ban for a failing doping test for a second time during her career. In addition, Double European 100m hurdles champion Nevin Yanit, also faced a ban after "multiple positive findings in both in-competition and out-of-competition tests," the International Association of Athletics Federations said in a report in May.
Turkey finished in 9th position in a 12 team contest a the European Team Championships last weekend scoring 197,5 points. Teams Greece and Norway which finished in 11 and 12 respectively lost their positions in Super League and will compete next year in 1st league.


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