Rio 2016 bronze medallist Gabriel Sîncrăian has tested positive for testosterone ©Getty Images

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has confirmed that four athletes failed drugs tests at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. 

The world governing body revealed today that Romania's Gabriel Sîncrăian failed a drugs test, as reported by insidethegames yesterday. 

They also officially confirmed three other doping cases from Rio 2016.

Sîncrăian is set to lose the Olympic bronze medal he won at Rio 2016 after being notified of a failed drugs test.

The 27-year-old, who finished third in the under 85 kilograms competition in the Brazilian city, has tested positive for testosterone.

He was not invited to a ceremony honouring Romanian medal winners from Rio 2016 and faces a life ban from the sport after he has been already served a two-year doping suspension from 2013 until 2015.

The decision to take away the bronze medal from Sîncrăian will have to be formally taken by the International Olympic Committee.

Romania's Gabriel Sîncrăian has already been listed as disqualified in the under 85kg category at Rio 2016 and Kazakhstan's Denis Ulanov promoted to the bronze in the IWF's official magazine World Weightlifting ©IWF
Romania's Gabriel Sîncrăian has already been listed as disqualified in the under 85kg category at Rio 2016 and Kazakhstan's Denis Ulanov promoted to the bronze in the IWF's official magazine World Weightlifting ©IWF

"There is no final decision on sanctions relating to the Rio Olympics yet," the IWF said on their website. 

But in the IWF's official magazine, World Weightlifting, Sîncrăian is already listed as disqualified and the bronze medal awarded to Kazakhstan's Denis Ulanov. 

The IWF also formally confirmed that Kyrgyzstan's Izzat Artykov was stripped of his Olympic medal from Rio 2016 for doping after a positive test for strychnine.

Strychnine, also used as a pesticide, can have an immediate energy boost and is listed as a specified stimulant on the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List.

The 22-year-old had shown little form before this year but claimed the Asian title in Tashkent in April before lifting a total of 339kg to claim the Olympic bronze medal in the under 69kg competition.

Colombia's Luis Javier Mosquera was promoted to third place. 

Mongolia's Chagnaadorj Usukhbayar also tested positive for testosterone.

The 19-year-old competed in the under 56kg division but did not finish the event.

Usukhbayar's was the seventh case to be dealt with by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) at Rio 2016 after they opened an office for the first time in an Olympic host city to fast-track the process.

Poland's Tomasz Zielinski, who is poised to collect a London 2012 bronze medal, was named by the International Weightlifting Federation after he tested positive for norandrosterone ©Getty Images
Poland's Tomasz Zielinski, who is poised to collect a London 2012 bronze medal, was named by the International Weightlifting Federation after he tested positive for norandrosterone ©Getty Images

Poland's Tomasz Zielinski was also named by the IWF after he tested positive for norandrosterone.

The 25-year-old was sent home from Rio 2016 after CAS banned him from the Olympics. 

Zielinski is expected to receive the bronze medal in the men’s 94 kilogram weightlifting event from London 2012.

After originally finishing ninth in the event, the athletes that finished in first, second, third, fourth, sixth and seventh have all been disqualified, promoting Zielinski to the bronze medal.

"These athletes were excluded from the Games and their respective results were disqualified," read a statement on the IWF's website.

"The IWF is taking over the result management of their cases in terms of sanctions beyond the Olympic Games and will not make any further comments on the cases until they are closed."