BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Olympic champion Un Guk Kim of North Korea is among seven athletes who have been provisionally suspended by the international weightlifting federation after failing doping tests at the world championships.
Kim, who won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics by setting a world record total in the men's 62-kilogram division, tested positive for the banned substance letrozole, which is classified as a hormone and metabolic modulator.
Kim's positive test was announced alongside those of Azerbaijan's Valentin Hristov and Elkhan Aligulizada. The IWF provisionally suspended four other athletes earlier this week.
At the world championships, which were held from Nov. 20-28 in Houston, Kim finished runner-up ahead of Hristov, who tested positive for anabolic steroid nandrolone.
The IWF has yet to complete the testing for the samples collected during the championships.
