u/brianroliver

Kakhi Asanidze at the European Juniors

A 'sabotage' claim by the Georgia Weightlifting Federation (president: Lasha Talakhadze) has failed for a second time. Kakhi Asanidze, son of the national head coach Giorgi Asanidze, has been banned for 4 years after a Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing that did not accept the sabotage theory (that an unnamed individual had spiked food or drink).

The case dates back to 2023 when Lasha was still competing, and he has spoken in support of the three weightlifters involved since he became GWF president. The GWF said there had been 10 positive samples in suspicious circumstances in three sports - weightlifting, judo and wrestling - collected from the same training facility in Georgia in the summer of 2023.

In July-August that year, Asanidze, Gurami Giorbelidze and Revaz Davitadze (a multiple world and continental medallist) all tested positive for traces of ostarine. The national anti-doping agency decided there had been sabotage when they were training at a multi-sport national Olympic centre. It imposed no ban, leaving Davitadze free to win silver medals at the 2024 Worlds and 2025 European Championships.

When the ITA contested that national decision, CAS ruled last October that Giorbelidze and Davitadze had committed offences and both were banned for 4 years from the date of the hearing. Now, in a separate hearing, Asanidze has also been banned for 4 years, but he has been absent throughout and his ban ends next year, dating from August 2023.

Asanidze, 26, was second in the European Championships and 10th in the World Championships at 73kg in 2022.

https://ita.sport/news/the-ita-acknowledges-the-cas-add-decision-sanctioning-weightlifter-kakhi-asanidze/

https://ita.sport/news/the-ita-acknowledges-the-cas-awards-sanctioning-weightlifters-revaz-davitadze-and-gurami-giorbelidze/

Hu's 288 total was the same as Emily Campbell made for bronze at Paris 2024

Report of the day:
https://iwf.sport/2026/05/08/ismailia-day-7-15-year-old-hu-makes-historic-total-and-irans-heavyweights-complete-a-double-1-2-again/

Hu Wenxun, age 15, goes 3/3 in snatch and beats her own youth WR by 10kg on 125kg. She is on course to make the biggest total in weightlifting history by a 15-year-old female (currently 272kg, back in 2011). Her team-mate Xhang Yuxin (18) leads the women supers by 1kg at halfway.

Bronze in Paris at 102, European champion last year

Details here:

https://ita.sport/news/the-ita-notifies-weightlifter-yauheni-tsikhantsou-of-an-apparent-anti-doping-rule-violation/