Seychelles' female weightlifter Ruby Malvina has tested positive for a banned substance, a top weightlifting official said on Wednesday.
The chairman of the Seychelles Weightlifting Federation (SWF), Robert Rose, told reporters that "We can confirm that Ruby Malvina has tested positive for a banned substance. It was the International Testing Agency (ITA), who sent a letter dated July 3 to inform us of the matter."
According to an Olympic news website on Tuesday - insidethegames.biz - Seychellois Malvina, 39, tested positive for the anabolic steroid metenolone after finishing third in the African Championships in Tunis in May.
"The ITA, will now decide on a punishment for Malvina, which could be four to six years or even a lifetime ban from all weightlifting activities," said Rose, who added that he wished the athlete herself had turned up at the press conference to present her side of the matter.
With Malvina being one of the top female weightlifters in Seychelles and having won numerous medals at various levels, the ban is a huge blow for the weightlifting team with Romentha Larue also out due to injury.
"The mood in the Seychelles camp is obviously affected, but the athletes will still look to do what they always do at these games, which is trying to win medals," said Rose.
This is the second time that Malvina tested positive for a banned substance.
She was banned in 2016 after her third positive result came in an out-of-competition test, when samples were taken in Seychelles and sent to South Africa to be analysed.
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Malvina was tested for doping after winning a gold medal at the Commonwealth Championship in Pune, India, in November 2015 in the 58kg category. According to the IWF, there were traces of a substance called Stanozolol - a synthetic anabolic steroid derived from dihydrotestosterone - found in the athlete's body.
She was unable to compete until her ban was lifted.
Malvina is the fourth Seychellois lifter to test positive for banned substances. Charles Simeon was banned for two years in 2009 when he failed a doping test in Kenya at the African Championships, a competition where he was recognised as the best junior lifter.
Brenda Lozaique was banned for two years for using performance enhancing drugs at the Olympic qualifiers in South Africa in 2011 and a second male weightlifter tested positive for banned substances during last year's ninth Indian Ocean Island Games (IOIG) in Reunion.
Meanwhile, having headed the federation for 24 years, Rose has said that he will likely step down after the IOIG is done.
"I will leave and hopefully someone who loves the sport can take over," added Rose, who says the doping issues have taken a toll on the federation in the past years.
