Three weightlifting CAS hearings will take place in January ©CAS

Weightlifting bodies in Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia are scheduled to attend Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearings in January as they seek to avoid one-year suspensions from the sport.

According to a calendar of hearings posted on the CAS website, a Russian Weightlifting Federation appeal will be heard on January 26.

Hearings with the Belarusian Weightlifting Union and Weightlifting Federation of the Republic of Kazakhstan are scheduled for the following day.

International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) President Tamas Ajan gave a "guarantee" in August that all lifters from Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan would be handed a one-year ban from competition following the Rio 2016 Olympics.

It follows the re-testing of doping samples from the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 by the International Olympic Committee, who have used up-to-date methods. 

Four Kazakhstan weightlifting gold medal winners at London 2012 failed drugs tests, including two-time champion Ilya Ilyin.

He also failed retrospectively in Beijing.

Three Belarus athletes were also implicated, including London 2012 under-69kg bronze medallist Maryna Shkermankova.

Nine Russians failed, including eight who won medals.

Kazakhstan star Ilya Ilyin is among those to have been stripped of gold medals won at Beijing 2008 and London 2012 ©Getty Images
Kazakhstan star Ilya Ilyin is among those to have been stripped of gold medals won at Beijing 2008 and London 2012 ©Getty Images

This followed the introduction of a new law ruling that any country producing three or more positive tests following re-analysis of Beijing and London samples would be suspended.

Azerbaijan, Armenia, China, Moldova, Turkey and Ukraine are all facing similar bans once the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed all outstanding cases.

The IWF told insidethegames in September how no action will be taken until all outstanding IOC and CAS cases are confirmed.

Russian lifters were unsuccessful in appealing a separate suspension introduced for damaging the "integrity" of the sport which saw them banned from the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

It was ruled that the "integrity of the weightlifting sport has been seriously damaged on multiple times and levels...therefore an appropriate sanction was applied in order to preserve the status of the sport".

Weightlifting has been responsible for 47 of the 102 cases to emerge following IOC reanalysis using new methods capable of detecting anabolic steroid use over far longer periods.

It was cited as a sport particularly at fault by IOC President Thomas Bach last week when he was discussing the re-testing process.