Chen Xiexia, one of the gold-winning weightlifters who have tested positive for the 2008 Games // Rungroj Yongrit/EPA
A trio of Chinese Olympic weightlifting champions from the 2008 Games have failed doping re-tests, according to a report by Reuters.The International Olympic Committee (IOC) re-tested samples from 2008 using more advanced methods developed in the interim. Gold medalists Chen Xiexia, Liu Chunghong and Cao Lei all failed and have been provisionally suspended.Their performances at the Beijing Games have long been considered suspicious. According to the Reuters report:"Chen lifted 13kg more, Cao 16kg more, and Liu 31kg more than their closest rival -- in a sport where there is often just a single kilogram between gold and silver."The trio are among 11 medalists who have tested positive. The BBC reports that the others are Andrei Rybakou and Anastasia Novikova (Belarus); Maria Grabovetskaya and Irina Nekrasova (Kazakhstan); Khadzhimurat Akkaev and Dmitry Lapikov (Russia); and Natalya Davydova and Olha Korobka (Ukraine). All have been provisionally suspended. Four other athletes who did not win medals have also re-tested positive.China were comfortably the most successful weightlifting nation at their home games, though their haul of eight golds and one silver now looks set to be reduced. They also topped the table at this summer's Rio Games, taking home five gold medals and two silvers.