On 5 April 2017, it was announced that as a result of retesting samples he had been disqualified from the 2008 Olympics for a drug violation, and his gold medal was withdrawn.[3] On 23 July 2019, it was announced that as a result of retesting samples he had been disqualified from the 2012 Olympics for a drug violation, and his gold medal from that event was also withdrawn.[4] As both of his gold medals were re-allocated to Russian wrestlers, Taymazov said he was nonetheless happy to "bring" two golds to Russia.[5]
Early life
In childhood, he was doing weightlifting but when he turned 11, a freestyle wrestling club opened in his village and he decided to wrestle. His older brother Tymur Taymazov was a 1996 Olympic Games champion in weightlifting, competing for Ukraine.
He successfully defended his 120 kg title in Beijing four years later, this time defeating Musul'bes in the semifinals, winning 3–0, 1–0 in the final against Russian Bakhtiyar Akhmedov. After his second olympic title in Beijing, he was honored in his country by the Buyuk Hizmatlari Uchun Order[6] ("For Outstanding Services").
His urine sample was retested in 2016, and he was found to be taking a banned substance. Taymazov was stripped of his medal with his 2008 results disqualified.[7]
The athlete's page which introduced Taymazov, his height was wrongly shown as 1.75 m, but his actual height was 1.90 m.[8]
On 23 July 2019, it was announced that as a result of retesting samples, Taymazov had been disqualified from the 2012 Olympics for a drug violation, and his gold medal from that event was withdrawn.[4][9]
Sanctioned by Canada under the Special Economic Measures Act (S.C. 1992, c. 17) in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine for Grave Breach of International Peace and Security.[10] and by the UK government in 2022 in relation to Russo-Ukrainian War.[11]
