Bonn, Germany - The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced today that two Ukrainian athletes in the sport of Powerlifting, tested positive for a Prohibited Substance and a sanction of two years ineligibility was imposed for their first doping offence.

Andriy Byelikov tested positive for Hydrochlorothiazide at the 8th Open IPC Powerlifting European Championships 2007 in Kavala, Greece, in June 2007.

Liubov Semenyuk also tested positive for Hydrochlorothiazide at the 8th Open IPC Powerlifting European Championships 2007 in Kavala, Greece in June 2007.

The substance is included in the 2007 Prohibited List and consequently prohibited under the IPC Anti-Doping Code, which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC).

According to Article 3.1 of the IPC Anti-Doping Code, it is each athlete’s personal duty to ensure that no Prohibited Substances enters his or her body. Furthermore, each athlete is responsible for any Prohibited Substances found in their bodily specimen, regardless of how it entered their body.

In accordance with the IPC Anti-Doping Code (Article 9.8), and after an expedited hearing of the IPC Anti-Doping Committee, the IPC ratified the decision to impose a sanction of two years ineligibility on athlete Andriy Byelikov as a result of this offence being his first anti-doping rule violation, commencing 12 June 2007, the day of the violation.

Also, in accordance with the IPC Anti-Doping Code (Article 9.8), and after an expedited hearing of the IPC Anti-Doping Committee, the IPC ratified the decision to impose a sanction of two years ineligibility on athlete Liubov Semeneyuk as a result of this offence being her first anti-doping rule violation, commencing 14 June 2007 the day of the violation.

According to the IPC Anti-Doping Code (Article 12.1 and 12.7), all individual results of both athletes obtained at the 8th Open IPC Powerlifting European Championships 2007 and thereafter shall be disqualified. This includes the forfeit of any medals, points and prizes.

This ruling is in accordance with the IPC Anti-Doping Code. As a signatory of the WADC, the IPC remains committed to a doping free sporting environment at all levels. The IPC, together with the International Federations and the National Paralympic Committees, established the IPC Anti-Doping Code (January 2004) to prevent, in the spirit of fair play, doping in sport for athletes with a disability and in conformity with the general principles of the WADC.

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Notes to the Editor:

About the IPC: The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, and serves as the International Federation for 11 sports, for which it supervises and co-ordinates the World Championships and other competitions. The IPC is committed to enabling Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to developing sport opportunities for all persons with a disability from the beginner to elite level. In addition, the IPC aims to promote the Paralympic values, which include courage, determination, inspiration and equality.

For further information, please contact Steffi Klein, IPC Communication Manager, on tel: +49-2008-2097-230, e-mail: steffi.klein@paralympic.org or go to www.paralympic.org .