The Russians have an aphorism, “Only the grave will cure a hunchback.” The same may be said about its athlete’s reliance on performance-enhancing drugs.
In this case, it is Moldavian athlete, Serghei Marghiev, who is provisionally suspended for the presence or use of the prohibited substance dehydrochloromethyltestosterone, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced today.
The hammer throw specialist holds the national record of 78.72m. Marghiev finished eighth at the 2017 London World Athletics Championships.
The 33-year-old represented his country in multiple Olympic Games (2012, 2016, 2020, 2024) and World Championships. He has consistently finished top-8 in global competitions.
Born in Russia, he is the younger brother of fellow hammer throwers Zalina Marghieva and Marina Nikişenko.
What is dehydrochloromethyltestosterone
Dehydrochloromethyltestosterone is oral turinabol. It is an anabolic-androgenic steroid developed in the 1960s, notably used in state-sponsored doping by East Germany. As a derivative of testosterone, it is used to increase muscle mass and performance and is prohibited at all times by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
The Russians have another aphorism, “No matter how much you feed the wolf, it always looks to the forest.”
Will the Russian athletes ever learn?
