Lifetime ban for Albanian weightlifter

An emergency meeting of the Albanian Weightlifting Federation (AWF) has suspended one of the nation’s top lifters for life after he tested positive for cocaine at the National Championships.

His coach has been banned for five years and the AWF, which has been beset by doping problems in recent years, has warned all other weightlifters that from now on anyone who tests positive will be excluded from the sport for life.

The cocaine positive was a second doping violation for Arber Cercizi, 23, who has won medals at European Junior and Under-23 level.

He was suspended for two years in 2014 after testing positive for testosterone.