Sofia--Eleven Bulgarian weightlifters received nine- and 18-month bans after testing positive for doping in March, the weightlifting federation said Wednesday.
The eight men and three women from Bulgaria's national weightlifting team tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol, which stimulates increased muscle tissue.
The federation had said it was not aware that the long-banned substance was part of a food additive used by the athletes for recovery.
The athletes were expecting to be banned for the usual four years, while four risked to lose their competition rights for life for a second offence.
Seven of them -- five men and two women -- were however handed down 9-month bans. They will miss the world championships in the USA in November, which is an important qualifications for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Three more men and a woman were banned for 18 months and will have to skip the Olympics.
"The drastic lowering of the bans signals that the international weightlifting federation has taken into account the unquestionable evidence that the Bulgarians have fallen victim to someone else's negligence," federation chief Nedelcho Kolev commented.
He said the federation was currently considering whether to appeal the sanctions.
AFP
