Two Vietnamese athletes fail doping test at 2021 SEA Games

According to a source of VnExpress, it is likely that these two won a gold and a silver medal in athletics. Further testing will be done on these athletes. In case the results continue to be positive, they will be stripped of their medals and face a long-term ban.

Vietnamese sports officials have not disclosed the identity of the athletes. The health committee of SEA Games 31 said that the exact number of Vietnamese athletes with doping is not known, because the results have not been fully reported. Besides Vietnam, many members of other participating countries also tested positive for banned substances.

In August, Singapore’s Ministry of National Defense said that two swimmers Joseph Schooling and Amanda Lim used drugs while training and competing at SEA Games 31. However, they have not been stripped of their medals since the doping test results are not available yet.

On Wednesday afternoon, a representative of the Vietnam Bodybuilding & Weightlifting Federation also confirmed that before SEA Games 31, they tested the athletes and six were positive with banned substances. They were immediately disqualified and not allowed to compete in SEA Games 31.

The 31st SEA Games took place in Hanoi and the neighboring provinces from May 12 to 23, 2021 with 40 sports, 526 events with over 10,000 athletes, officials and referees from 11 Southeast Asian countries. Vietnam participated with 1,341 members, including 956 athletes, won 205 gold medals, 125 silver medals, 116 bronze medals and ranked first overall.

At the event, the organizers conducted a random doping test with nearly 1,000 athletes.

Vietnam have recorded 19 doping cases since the 2003 SEA Games. Most of these cases came from a lack of knowledge and minimal anti-doping skills because the drugs they use are common and too easy to detect such as diuretics or boosters.